


Chaotic Kitten's First Time (At HQ Games)

by ChaoticKitten01 (captainrighthook)



Series: Behind The Screens [1]
Category: Haikyuu!!
Genre: Bokuaka - Freeform, Idol AU, K-pop References, KageHina - Freeform, KuroKen - Freeform, M/M, OT3, YouTube, daisuga - Freeform, haikyuu au, iwaoi - Freeform, yakulev - Freeform
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-05-18
Updated: 2016-12-09
Packaged: 2018-06-09 05:02:02
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 17
Words: 44,797
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6891238
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/captainrighthook/pseuds/ChaoticKitten01
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>"Hey hey hey! Have you seen this ChatoicKitten play HALO?" Bokuto asks, eyes wide with excitement.<br/>"Who?" Kuroo asks, not looking up from his computer screen.<br/>"He's amazing!" Bokuto says, not answering his friend's question. "We should invite him to play with us sometime!"</p><p>AKA Kenma gets an invite and is not excited--but he is pretty amused.<br/>[NOTE: SUMMARY MAY NOT BE ENTIRELY ACCURATE THE MORE I WRITE.]<br/>[I changed the rating because there's no smut... yet ( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°) ]</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Prologue: Don't Read The Comments

       High school had been a complete nightmare for Kozume Kenma until late one night a friend of his had suggested he try a career in gaming. It hadn’t seemed all that interesting at the time, but then he’d really started to think about it; he loved video games, he was good at it, and he wasn’t really all for the whole school thing. So why not?  
       He’d downloaded the proper programs and started recording his screen while he played. At first he would upload his gaming videos to Twitch. He had a small following of 500 subscribers, most of whom legitimately enjoyed watching him maneuver the levels of various games. For the most part he completely ignored any and all comments on any of his videos simply because he didn’t care, but then he’d received an interesting text from his friend.

 >> **FROM** : Hinata Shouyou  
      _kenma! hve u seen th comment  
__thread on ur last vid???_

  
       Kenma paused the game he was currently playing to reread the text he’d just gotten. Of course he hadn’t read the comments, but he hadn’t mentioned it to anyone. That was mostly because nobody asked, but also because he just didn’t say anything.

 >> **FROM** : Me  
_i don’t really read comments._

  >> **FROM** : Hinata Shouyou  
_u shud! ppl love ur vids._

  
       The message shocked Kenma. Did people really love his videos? He guessed they must’ve at least found them entertaining if they kept watching every week, but he never really thought people liked him all that much. He told Hinata the same.

 >> **FROM:** Me  
      _really? i never really thought_  
      _that anyone actually liked me  
_       _that much…_

 ** >>FROM:** Hinata Shouyou  
      _nuuu! kenmaaaa! every1 thinks_  
      _ur gr8! srsly. ppl keep trying 2 tlk  
_       _2 u!!!_

  
       Part of him felt bad that people had (apparently) tried to reach out to him in comments and he’d been ignoring them, but  half the reason he ignored them was fear they were simply going to say something rude to him. Kenma, in his nervous fervor, hadn’t noticed his phone buzz again nor the new message from Hinata that shone on his screen.

 ** >>FROM:** Hinata Shouyou  
      _kenmaa? u there??_

 >> **FROM:** Me  
      _yeah. sorry. what did the  
_       _comment thread talk about?_

  
       Honestly, he just wanted to change the subject to something other than people that cared about him. It wasn’t something he was used to.

 ** >>FROM:** Hinata Shouyou  
      _oooh! right! it said u shud start_  
      _a utube channel! apparently ud  
_       _get more views or sumthin?_

 >> **FROM:** Me  
      _huh. maybe i’ll check it out…_

  **> >FROM:** Hinata Shouyou  
      _cool!!! also wht ws the bio hw?_

  
       Kenma smiled slightly and shook his head before replying. However, if Kenma had known back then what those few texts would lead to, he would have bought his friend something exquisite because that was the start of his gaming career, and damn if he didn’t love it.

[~~~***~~~]

       YouTube was an entirely different world. Kenma received a great amount of hate on almost every single video he had uploaded, most of which centered on the fact that he didn’t talk much during his videos. People on Twitch never seemed to mind his quiet nature, but things were just different now. Lots of people came to Kenma’s defense stating things like, “That’s just how he is! Leave him alone!” or something along the lines of, “So what? We’re here for the game not the commentary. If you don’t like it, don’t watch.” and he’d even gotten a few, “Okay, I know Kenma IRL and he’s a really nice guy. Stop sending him hate he doesn’t need.” Of course all of those ones came from Hinata, but it helped boost his confidence nonetheless.  
       Multiple times he’d complained to his few friends that he wanted to quit completely; harassment was not something he’d signed up for. Each time they’d reassure him that if he was happy with what he was doing and as long as there was one person willing to watch him play, he should continue on. So continue on he did.  
       Three years later he would have been a senior in high school but had gained a following of around 5.5 million subscribers and decided to drop out of school. He could support himself on the salary he was making and moved to a small apartment he would share with Hinata in the fall when the other boy would go to college. At the moment, life was pretty good, so naturally he assumed something was about to go horribly wrong.


	2. Owls or Cats?

       “It is OVC Monday here at HQ Games,” Kuroo’s voice was steady and sure just like it always was. “As usual we have Lev, Yaku, and yours truly playing for the Cats.” Lev and Yaku gave their usual greetings and Kuroo continued. “The Owls have a special guest today. The Crow’s very own Tsukishima Kei is joining Kai and Akaashi to fill in for what’s-his-face.” Lev barked out a laugh and his character on screen bounced up and down before charging across a vast desert.

       “Did you forget his name or something?” Kai asked teasingly.

       “Nah,” Kuroo said plainly, his character aiming for Akaashi’s character before hitting the ‘A’ button repeatedly, playfully showering him in flowers.

       “He’s your best friend, Kuroo.” Yaku reminded, rolling his eyes despite knowing nobody could see.

       “I don’t have a best friend,” Kuroo hissed, turning around on screen to go find some more flowers. 

       “What would Bokuto say?!” Kai asked, laughing hard. He was currently running in circles on screen, still not sure what the Let’s Play was about.

       “Who’s Bokuto?” Kuroo asked innocently. “I don’t know that name because that traitor is fucking _dEAD_ _TO ME_.” He returned to Akaashi’s character that was currently mining diamond somewhere underground and gave him a rose.

       “Am I going to have to deal with this the entire time?” Tsukishima asked, sneaking up behind Yaku with his sword out, making a tentative swipe at his character.

       “Koutarou went to see The Force Awakens today without Kuroo,” Akaashi explained, taking the flower Kuroo gave him and throwing it into the lava just like he had with the other 30 flowers. “That’s why he’s so upset.” Everyone let a collective ‘ _Ooo, that sucks._ ’ into their headsets aside from Tsukishima who just laughed.

       “Whatever!” Kuroo said, pretending he didn’t care. “We’re filming an OVC Minecraft.”

       After a second of silence Yaku asked, “Are we playing Minecraft with the new Shader’s Mod because you knew Bokuto wanted to?”

       “No!” Kuroo said, a little too quickly, his character being attacked and killed by a spider. “Shut up, it doesn’t matter. He can deal. Let’s just play.”

       “I still have no fucking idea what we’re doing,” Kai said, still running in circles.

       “Don’t worry about it,” Yaku murmured, now fending Tsukishima off with his own sword.

       Kuroo laughed, “Pfft! Alright guys, first one to get to the Nether and get a wither skull wins.” They all groaned; they were going to be there for-fucking-ever, but Kuroo knew they didn’t really mind. They knew killing was fine and it would be a race to the fucking death. Yeah, this was gonna be a good video.

[~~~***~~~] 

       As expected, everyone died at least 15 times during the game thus far. Most deaths were straight murders from the other team, but other deaths were typical and anticipated; Creepers, spiders, skeletons, zombies, Blazes, Ghasts, and of course, Wither Skeletons. Also as expected was Bokuto’s reaction when he entered HQ Games and saw the game everyone was playing.

       “Kuroo, why must you hurt me like this?” He whined, just loud enough to be picked up by a microphone. Currently Yaku and Tsukishima were battling a Wither Skeleton. The others were attempting to make it back to The Nether after a blaze set them all on fire and killed them.

       “I should be asking you the same question!” Kuroo countered, frowning as he took one step into The Nether and got blown up by a Ghast. “How was the movie, traitor?”

       “Thanks for the sword,” Lev snickered, picking up Kuroo’s fallen loot.

       “Lev don’t you take my fucking sword!” Kuroo yelled, already forgetting the betrayal he was supposed to be expressing towards his best friend. He had entered the Nether once again, just in time to watch all three boys wither away one by one.

       “Aw fuck,” Tsukishima muttered.

       Kuroo promptly turned around and left. “Clearly we are not ready enough to take on the Nether. Let’s go back to mining for a little.” Everyone voiced their agreement and returned to their respective mining areas. Bokuto, who had fallen into a slightly dejected mood since being ignored, sat down next to Akaashi.

       Akaashi leaned away from the microphone and gave Bokuto a chaste kiss before murmuring a few comforting words to him and returning to the game. Bokuto flushed slightly, smiling wide. From across the room, Kuroo winked at him and smiled which seemed to help him even more.

       “Oh! I’d like to bring up something kinda important,” Bokuto said, mischief evident in his voice. Akaashi just rolled his eyes, already knowing what he was going to bring up; after all they had talked about it the night before.

       “This could be bad, but go ahead.” Kuroo said as he killed Lev somewhere in a stronghold. Lev whined in retaliation. “That’s for taking my goddamned sword, by the way.”

       “Alright, so…” Bokuto’s voice trailed off for a second, briefly distracted by the Creepers that had flooded Akaashi’s mineshaft. “Last week on the Cats Defy Gravity podcast, there was a comment that I found really interesting.”

       “Bokuto,” Yaku said in clear warning. “Don’t.”

       “What? Lev wants to know!” Lev broke into third person whenever he got overly excited or curious. It was a problem that nobody bothered to correct.

       “No you don’t,” Yaku groaned.

       “Now I’m curious,” Kai said, mining on a small island somewhere in the middle of the ocean. Tsukishima was on an island nearby, but he was busy filling a chest with diamond armor and stone pickaxes.

       “To be clear, Yaku got wasted last night and said I could talk about this on OVC,” Bokuto quickly said. “So anyways, there was a comment that said something like—”

       “Wait,” Yaku said, frowning. “That doesn’t count! I didn’t know what I was saying!”

       “You totally fucking did, you never truly get wasted, Yaku.” Kuroo rolled his eyes. Yaku grumbled angrily but didn’t say anything. Lev just giggled.

       “ _Anyway_ ,” Bokuto said, clearly agitated at being interrupted several times. “There was a comment that said something like ‘ _Wait, did Yaku just said that Lev would have to sleep on the couch?! Does that mean what I think it means?!_ ’ and I wanted to quickly clarify that fucking yes it’s exactly what you think it means.” Halfway through speaking it was clear what he was trying to say and everyone burst into laughter. Everyone but Yaku, that is.

       “Yeah, I forgot we never talked about it on camera before.” Yaku sighed, completely pausing his game in order to get up, walk five feet, and flick Bokuto behind the ear.

       “Ow!” Bokuto yelped before sticking his tongue out at Yaku.

       “Yaku-saaaaaan,” Lev whined, reverting to the honorific of his slightly older partner. “Are you ashamed of me? Is that why you don’t talk about us?”

       “Jesus.” Tsukishima paused his game as well, getting up to take a break—whether that break was from the idiots in the room or from playing itself remained to be seen.

       “If he starts crying tonight, it’s your fucking fault,” Yaku told Bokuto with a glare.

       “Hey, back to the matter at hand, please.” Kuroo reminded. In the background you could hear Akaashi muttering something about _fuckin’ Creeper bullshit_.

       “How long have you two been dating, Yaku?” Kai asked.

       “Eight months,” Yaku and Lev said at the same time.

       “And I’m not ashamed of you, Lev.” Yaku mumbled, blushing bright red.

       “Really?” Lev asked, brightening up immediately

       “Aw! Kiss, kiss, kis—” Kuroo got part way through his chant before he felt Yaku’s fist collide with his stomach. He doubled over in his chair and started coughing harshly. Yaku huffed and sat back down in his chair.

       “For those of you who aren’t aware,” Tsukishima said with a smirk. “Yaku just punched Kuroo in the stomach. And I just fucking killed a Wither Skeleton. You may all suck my dick.” The room erupted in hysterical laughs and a collective ‘ _No! How the fuck? When the fuck did you do that?_ ’

       “OVC Over. Owls Win,” Akaashi said when Kuroo failed to speak up—although this was entirely due to the fact that he was still in pain from the small yet powerful fist that had met his stomach moments earlier. It was a sore victory, but it was one that Akaashi and Kai would never let the Cats live down.

[~~~***~~~] 

       “ ** _Kubro_**!” Kuroo was lounging in his office browsing the internet when Bokuto burst into the room, laptop in hand and boyfriend in tow. Akaashi smiled at the startled Kuroo and mumbled a small apology. This wasn’t the first time Bokuto had unceremoniously let himself into Kuroo’s office in a whirl of excitement, but this ranked in the top three moments of ‘Times Kuroo Almost Pissed Himself Out Of Panic’.

       “Jesus Christ, Bo!” Kuroo exclaimed, placing a hand over his heart to calm its pace. It only took a second for Kuroo to go back to looking at cat videos, promptly ignoring his friend as punishment for startling him.

       “I apologize, Kuroo. I tried to get him to knock.” Akaashi said, looking at his boyfriend disapprovingly. However, Bokuto didn’t even notice as he was too busy placing his laptop on Kuroo’s desk pointing to the screen animatedly. A YouTube video titled ‘ _HALO Play-Through: Part 2_ ’ was pulled up, though Kuroo would not know this seeing as he was still ignoring Bokuto.

       “Hey hey hey! Have you seen this ChaoticKitten play HALO?” Bokuto asks, his eyes wide with excitement.

       “Who?” Kuroo asks, not looking up from his computer screen.

       “He’s amazing! Bokuto gushes, not answering his friend’s question. “We should invite him to play with us sometime!” Now this sentiment _did_ catch Kuroo’s attention. Bokuto was someone who got excited way too easily, but he rarely outwardly acknowledged when other gamers were talented. On the other hand, nobody knew if he did this out of jealousy or if he did it because he was just plain stupid, so…

       Kuroo paused the current video he was watching and looked up at Bokuto in confusion. After a moment he said, “You’ve gotta be kidding me, bro.” Akaashi laughed slightly and Bokuto whined.

       “No seriously, look at this!” Then he pressed play. Kuroo was more willing to say when a gamer had skill, but he had no words for this. The terms _‘talented_ ’ and ‘ _amazing_ ’ just didn’t seem to cut it. The video itself was relatively quiet save for the occasional grunt and dialogue from the onscreen characters which is something Kuroo found oddly refreshing. Something about the silence seemed to work; usually people who uploaded their videos felt the need to make conversation or silly quips about the characters actions simply because a wordless video felt awkward.

       Not this kid.

       The way the game was played was that of someone knowledgeable and calm. Almost every move was clearly calculated and made with determination. It almost seemed like a machine was playing due to how deliberate every action was carried out. Kuroo was at a complete loss for words and Bokuto looked positively smug. This was never a good thing.

       “See?! I told you!”

       “Shut up you stupid, owl!” Kuroo said, a light blush crossing his features; he had already made up his mind. He absolutely _had_ to meet whoever it was that was playing these games; just to make sure it was real.

       “You,” he pointed to Akaashi who gestured to himself in surprise. “Whoever this kid is. I wanna meet them.”

       “Yes, Kuroo.” Akaashi replied with a knowing smile. He then took Bokuto’s hand and pulled him out of the office, ignoring the whine of ‘ _MY LAPTOP!_ ’. They could get it later.

       Kuroo had some research to do.


	3. E-Mailed Over Text

       Kenma sighed as he pinched the bridge of his nose. _Shou’s my best friend_ , he reminded himself. It barely helped. Kenma laughed slightly, exiting his messages and opening his e-mail. On average, he found himself with plenty of e-mails from fans, most of which he read though he hardly replied. There were days when Kenma would feel so overwhelmed that he’d have Hinata go through his e-mails and delete the unnecessary ones. Unfortunately he felt himself reaching that point once more, but he’d worry about that later.

       At the moment he was focused on the task at hand. Kenma started to scroll through his business e-mails until he found one titled _Collaboration Offer_ from _HQGames_. He raised an eyebrow in surprise. So Hinata wasn’t lying after all—not that Hinata has ever lied to Kenma about something regarding his channel. Luckily, Kenma could completely count on Hinata to be serious and eager when it came to something Kenma was so self-conscious about; he was fortunate to have such a good friend…

       His phone buzzed.

       “Good friend, indeed,” Kenma murmured under his breath before rolling his eyes good-humoredly. He tapped the e-mail and read its contents:

 _ChaoticKitten,_  
_Hello Kozume-san, my name is Akaashi Keiji. I’m the head of Social Media and Public Relations at the company HQ Games. Sorry to interrupt your day. We have a YouTube channel as well that is dedicated to gaming. We are reaching out in hopes that you will accept our offer to collaborate together on a video sometime in the near future.  
_ _Hope to hear back from you soon._

       Kenma was thoroughly surprised. To be quite honest, he wasn't prepared for a company as well known as HQ Games to be so polite. From what Kenma has seen throughout his entire life, people are generally entitled; they like to push others around if given the choice. He’s gotten collaboration proposals before, most of which were along the lines of something like…

_Hey! We’re a gaming channel! Would you like more followers? Then you should come do a collab with us! Don’t miss this opportunity!_

       However, this time around? It was different. It was genuine in reaching out to him and actually _asking_ him if he’d like to do a video with them; not assuming that he would like to. It all certainly was interesting. Of course that didn’t mean he was going to accept, but it was nice to feel like he was being treated as an actual person.

       Kenma switched back to his messages and rolls his eyes at what he finds.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay, I just. *Takes a deep breath* I just love the idea of Oikawa teaching Hinata all of the annoying tips and tricks he knows as well as spurring him onto emoticons. They'd be fantastic brofriends, let's be real.


	4. Headshot

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> *Wipes sweat from forehead.* Phew. Alright this took a while and it was actually longer when I first wrote it. I had incorporated a lot of things that seemed like they'd be better in a new chapter rather than this one. Hopefully I'll get to write more chapters that are longer cause I know people are awfully fond of that!

       “Are you ready?” Hinata asked, looking at Kenma with excitement. Kenma just shrugged, refusing to look up from the game he was playing on his PSP. The building they were standing in front of had a large orange logo over the door that read _HQ GAMES_. It had taken a lot of convincing and a few mild panic attacks, but Kenma had finally e-mailed Akaashi back to say he was interested in a collaboration. Of course, Kenma now wished he hadn’t agreed but knew that if he told Shou, he’d never hear the end of it. Then again, Kenma wouldn’t blame him. This _was_ a cool opportunity for him to do something fun and different for once, but he simply wasn’t a people-person. That’s why he’d brought Hinata—he knew that Hinata’s bright personality would more than make up for his significantly milder one.

       “Don’t look so indifferent, Kenken!” Hinata beamed at him and all he could do was roll his eyes. Oikawa was going to pay for spurring Hinata onto such terrible nicknames. Hinata grabbed Kenma’s shoulders and steered him inside, making sure he didn’t trip or bump into anything since he was still playing his game. Inside were two men, one sitting at a computer and one leaning over to point to the monitor, with palpable excitement, only to have his hand slapped away. He was babbling about something arbitrary but stopped and turned when he heard the door open.

       Kenma’s eyes flickered between his game and the strangers before him in order to not seem rude for not acknowledging them. The man who’d been putting his fingers all over the computer stood up straight and beamed at the two. Kenma thought he looked something like an owl with the way his round eyes watched them carefully and the odd styling of his two-toned hair.

       “Whoa!” Hinata smiles at him, jumping up and down excitedly. “Your hair is so cool!” He practically had stars in his eyes. The Owl Man’s smile dropped and for a moment Hinata worried that he’d somehow offended this stranger. Then the Owl bursts into laughter, practically hooting with joy.

       “Hey hey hey!” Owl Man laughed happily, posing dramatically with one hand on his hip and another behind his head. “Isn’t it cool? It’s pretty cool, right?! Oh! Hey, are you kids lost?” Hinata seemed entirely entranced by the stranger’s hair—black and silver and held up by what Kenma assumed was a metric fuck-ton of product—but snapped out of it when he heard the word _kid_. 

       “I’m not a kid!” Hinata’s cheeks puffed out and his fists clenched in anger.

       “Shou, stop,” Kenma murmured, turning off his handheld and slipping it into his pocket. Hinata immediately deflated and gave Kenma an apologetic look. Kenma gripped the straps on his backpack and looked at the stranger through the strands of hair that fell in his face.

       “Kenma, he called me short,” Hinata whined quietly.

       “Wait! _You’re_ Kozume Kenma?!” The man yelled loudly looking at him with comically wide eyes. Kenma flinched slightly but shrugged. “Ho-ho-holy shit, this is so awesome! It’s so cool to meet you!” Kenma shuffled nervously, looking at the ground in front of him. Despite the grating volume, he appreciated the enthusiasm; perhaps he actually _was_ wanted here after all. Beside him, Hinata was practically vibrating with happiness and Kenma smiled slightly.

       “Bokuto-san, you’re being too loud again.” A new voice came from the doorway behind the desk. He walked up to the Owl Man and placed a hand on his shoulder. The first thing Kenma noticed was that he was very… pretty. Slim and slightly shorter than the Owl Man but with delicate features and grey, naturally hooded eyes. This new man was also significantly quieter. Kenma liked him immediately.

       “Akaashi!” The Owl Man called Bokuto turned to him with the same star eyes Hinata had been giving Bokuto a few moments earlier. However, this seemed different. There was nothing but pure adoration on his face. Kenma looked away and Hinata blushed slightly; they both felt like they were witnessing something very intimate—Kenma didn’t miss the way Akaashi’s hand lingered for quite a long time on Bokuto’s shoulder.

       “I apologize, Kozume-san.” Akaashi said, addressing Kenma with a slight bow. “Bokuto tens to be very excitable.” Akaashi looked at Bokuto and smiled fondly before realizing they were not alone and turned back to the boys standing in front of him.

       “Wouldn’t you be excited too?” Bokuto pouts slightly. “He’s Kozume Kenma!” Bokuto gestured to all of Kenma with one hand and Hinata beamed proudly as if he were the one given a compliment. Anyone who knew them knew that Hinata Shouyou was extremely proud of his best friend.

       Akaashi suddenly realizes how rude he was being by not inviting Kenma or Hinata to come into the office or _sit down_. “Kozume-san, would you and Hinata like to come up?” Kenma nodded once and they were led back through the doorway Akaashi had come though and down the hallway. The room they entered had an office-like set-up but much more disorganized. Desks lined side by side with many computers all in a row, gaming consoles stacked beside each monitor. Papers and folders and pencils and toys were askew across almost every surface and everything about it felt… like home.

       There were two other boys in the room, working at their respective computers; a tall blond boy with an unapproachable feel (mostly due to the over-ear headphones he was wearing) and a shorter boy with light brown hair and warm eyes. Kenma looks at Akaashi for a clue as to what to do next. The other boy just smiles kindly before excusing himself to make a phone call.

       “Hey hey hey!” Bokuto barked at the two strangers. They both look at him; the blond seemingly annoyed at being interrupted although Kenma could tell these disturbances weren’t a rare occurrence. The shorter boy looked at him with kind eyes and Kenma felt slightly more at ease. “Tsukki! Yaku! This is Kozume Kenma.” Bokuto sounded so proud and Hinata nodded in approval.

       “Don’t call me that,” the blonde boy said before looking at Kenma and going back to work.

       “It’s very nice to meet you, Kozume-san.” The shorter boy smiles at him politely and stands up to bow slightly. “I’m Yaku Morisuke. That’s Tsukishima. He means well, but he doesn’t like nicknames.” Kenma just nods.

       “Nobody is excited enough,” Bokuto whines, sighing dramatically.

       “I’m really not that big of a deal, Bokuto-san.” Kenma mumbles, cursing himself for not speaking as clearly as he intended to, yet forcing himself to keep eye contact anyway. Hinata noticed his discomfort and grabbed his hand, lacing their fingers together. Yaku looked at their joined hands with a small smile and Kenma wanted to explain that it _wasn’t like that_ , but Akaashi spoke first.

       “You seem overly excited.” Akaashi seems amused when he returns to the room. Bokuto rolls his eyes but apologizes when he notices the deadpan stare Akaashi was giving him.

       “Kozume-san,” Yaku started. “You and Hinata-kun can feel free to either look around a little or sit down.” He points to a couch that Kenma hadn’t noticed before. It was small and looked comfortable all tucked away in the corner and his interest was immediately peaked.

       Kenma nods again, “Thank you, Yaku-san. And just Kenma is fine.”

       “Well then just Yaku is fine for me.” Kenma felt settled and comforted by how openly kind this stranger was being to him and he smiled slightly before retreating to the couch, pulling out his PSP. Hinata stayed behind and chatted excitedly with Bokuto while Yaku and Akaashi went back to work.

       As he’s passing by to grab something off a shelf, Akaashi tells him, “We’re just waiting for Kuroo’s meeting to end. He should be here in five minutes.” Kenma nods once again and goes back to playing. In a few minutes, Hinata joins him, sitting closely and resting his head on Kenma’s shoulder to watch his Lucario battle a Pikachu. 

       After a moment he smiles and giggles a little. “Bokuto told me that he’s so excited to meet you because he knows that Kuroo’s going to be pissed beyond belief that he didn’t meet you first.” Kenma frowned at his PSP and he felt his cheeks heat up. What was everyone’s deal? He wasn’t anyone important. He was just. Him. And he swears Shou can read his mind because he then says, “I know what you’re thinking, but Kenma… you’ve never seen Kuroo have you?”

       “No?” Kenma mutters, tapping the buttons a little more aggressively.

       “Okay, I love Kageyama, you know that,” Hinata says. _Obviously_ , Kenma thinks. “Both he and I agreed that Kuroo is so _dangerously_ _pretty_ that we’re sure you’ll like him. Kageyama’s words, not mine.”

       “Shou,” Kenma sighs. For years his friends have been trying to set him up on blind dates, and never has anything ever worked out well. They either were only interested in a one night stand or they were put off by his standoffish personality. If that didn’t seal the deal then his obvious discomfort when they tried to give him a goodnight kiss definitely did.

       Nobody ever took the time to get to actually know him or care about him, and he’d convinced himself that he didn’t care. He _didn’t care_.

       “Hey Kenma,” Yaku smiled apologetically for interrupting them. “We’re all gonna head into the recording room, Kuroo’s parking right now.” Kenma puts his device away and Hinata tugs him towards the door at the other end of the room. Just outside the door there’s sign next to a little red light bulb that states _RECORDING IN PROGRESS_.

       The recording room wasn’t even half as professional as the office. It was couches and arm-chairs and beanbags, each somehow personalized and looking very “homey”. There were two TV’s and a few computer monitors all hooked up to PS4’s, X-Box One’s, and Wii-U’s—Kenma cringed at that—along with recording microphones and some sound equipment. It reminded Kenma of his game room at home and he felt himself smiling slightly.

       Yaku tells him that he and Hinata can pick whichever chair or station made them the most comfortable as long as it wasn’t the chair with the owl blanket because Bokuto _always_ sat there. One of the beanbags had already been claimed by a guy switching on his equipment and plugging in his headphones. Kenma recognized him as boy that Bokuto had been talking with in the lobby. In the end, he picked an arm chair with a cat pillow that was big enough for him to share with Hinata. When he settled down, he noticed a figurine Lucky Cat beside the monitor and smiled a little.

       “Oh ho ho?” Bokuto laughed when he saw where Kenma chose to sit. Kenma frowned at him slightly but didn’t move.

       “What’s so funny, Bokuto-san?” Hinata asked, settling in beside Kenma—he wasn’t actually playing, but he was there to make Kenma feel more at ease and converse with the others when Kenma didn’t feel like it.

       “He’s laughing because Kuroo-san loves cats!” A boy that they somehow hadn’t noticed before was beaming down at them. Kenma looked at him indifferently while Hinata’s eyes went wide.

       “T-tall…” Hinata stuttered quietly, shrinking back in fear. Tall indeed; he had to be at least 190 cm if not 200. He was all legs and silver hair and bright green eyes. Kenma _would_ have been intimidated by his height but something told him this boy was generally an idiot. Maybe it was the idiot smile? Oikawa smiled like that a lot.

       He sat down on the couch beside them, still smiling, “If you also like cats, Kuroo-san will love you too!” Kenma frowned deeply at him.

       Definitely an idiot.

       “Lev, don’t scare Kenma!” Yaku scolded, smacking the boy firmly in the back of the head. Hinata gaped at them and Kenma raised an eyebrow. This was a side of Yaku they suddenly and desperately wished they’d never have to experience personally.

       “Yaku-san,” Lev whined, rubbing the back of his head.

       “Apologize,” Yaku narrowed his eyes at the taller boy who nodded frantically. It was funny, really. Watching someone so tall look so small under the gaze of someone who was significantly shorter.

       Lev turned to Kenma with that same idiot grin, “I’m sorry if I made you uncomfortable!” Kenma shrugged; he couldn’t find it in himself to really be that upset. Lev just seemed to be a blunt person, not a rude one.

       “Don’t worry about him.” Yaku sat down next to Lev (rather close, Kenma observed) and started to set up his equipment as well.

       “Okay, but where is the lie?” Bokuto giggles at them, receiving disappointed looks from both Yaku and Akaashi. Kenma was starting to feel a _little_ irked, but he just sat there with an unreadable expression on his face. It was something Hinata called Kenma’s _Game Face_ that was reserved for moments when Kenma was especially frustrated with a game or with someone he was playing with.

       There was a crash from outside the room and an irritated voice that yelled, “ _Alright, where’s Bokuto?!_ ” Said boy’s eyes went wide with recognition and he scrambled out of his chair to run towards the door.

       “Bro!” Bokuto replied with an absolutely shit-eating grin. Suddenly his face flooded with fear and he shrieked, diving out of the way just as a small projectile flew through the door and hit the opposite wall. Akaashi and Yaku rolled their eyes.

       “Kuroo’s here,” said the boy from the lobby, not bothering to look up from his phone.

       “Thanks for the update, Komi.” Yaku’s voice was laced with sarcasm.

       “Wow, you really weren’t joking when you said he’d be pissed,” Hinata said, still staring at where the flying object had slightly dented the wall.

       “I may or may not have been the one to schedule his meeting today,” Bokuto gasped out between laughs. Komi snorted and Lev let out an admittedly adorable giggle. Moments later a man that Kenma could only describe as _dangerously pretty_ (Kageyama’s words, not his) walked in sporting a lopsided smirk and the second most interesting hair Kenma had seen that day; jet black and strangely spiked on one side of his head. He was tall—definitely taller than Bokuto but not as tall as Lev—and lean with an easy demeanor. Kenma swallowed dryly. He felt… strange.

       “You’re a little shit, y’know that?” Kuroo told Bokuto with a half-hearted glare.

       “Kuroo, behave.” Yaku said with a slightly amused look. “We have company.” At the mention of guests, Kuroo’s eyes lit up with interest, completely forgetting about Bokuto. His gaze scanned the room until it landed on Kenma and he smiled lazily.

       “So we do,” Kuroo mused, his smirk growing into a full grin. Kenma noticed it was still crooked—a trait he found endearing. “How ‘bout that…” he murmured, looking Kenma up and down with an expression that none of his friends were used to seeing. Kenma shifted under the weight of his stare but didn’t break eye contact, instead choosing to blink softly and slowly. _Like a kitten,_ Kuroo thought as a warm feeling worked its way through his veins.

       “Kuroo, this is Kozume Kenma and Hinata Shouyou.” Akaashi told him. Kenma was the first to look away, picking up his backpack and rifling through it for something. Kuroo looked at Hinata and felt a tinge of identification shoot through him. This boy looked eerily familiar.

       “Nice to meet you, Hinata.” Kuroo said genuinely.

       “You too, Kuroo-san!” Hinata beamed.

       “Hah, just Kuroo is fine,” he assured the shorter boy, reaching forward and ruffling his hair. Hinata nodded excitedly and turned to talk to Kenma who was keenly aware of the few lingering seconds Kuroo stared at him yet choosing to ignore it.

       “Alright,” Komi said with a sigh. “Let’s just do this.” 

[~~~***~~~]

 

       “Hey hey hey!” Bokuto’s voice came across the audio loud and clear. Everyone cheered collectively, save for Kenma who was fiddling with his controller anxiously. Hinata rubbed Kenma’s back soothingly—an action that Kuroo didn’t fail to notice.

       “So today we have a very special guest,” Yaku said. “I know it was Bokuto’s idea but Kuroo _definitely_ agreed, as you might’ve heard on the Cats Defy Gravity Podcast. We have Kozume Kenma, or Chaotic Kitten as he’s known on YouTube, here in the HQ-HQ to help us out with the King’s Fall Raid in Destiny.” The idea to play _Destiny_ had actually been Hinata’s. When he was talking with Bokuto, the taller man had asked which game he thought Kenma would enjoy the most. The fact that it was _Destiny_ worked well for everyone; Kenma could practically play the entire thing with his eyes closed which meant he wouldn’t be stressing, and the gang at HQGames desperately needed help completing one of the raids.

       “As some of you are aware,” Akaashi took over. “We tried and failed horribly to complete this Raid before which makes us very lucky because Kenma is a pro.” Kenma squirmed in his seat and Hinata hugged him; Kuroo tried to ignore the weird feeling that bubbled up inside of him.

       “Thank you for saving our sorry asses,” he mused, hoping his voice didn’t sound as strained as it felt. Why was he feeling so weird? Yes, Kenma was absolutely adorable. Yes, he liked cats. Yes, he obviously had a boyfriend, if the way Hinata was acting said anything. So why did Kuroo feel jealous? He didn’t even know Kenma! But he’d always been a jealous person, and that wasn’t suddenly going to change. He’d just have to play it cool. That’s something he was good at.

       “We also have Kenma’s friend Hinata with us!” Lev added happily. “He’s not playing, but it’s still nice to have him here.”

       “Thank you, Lev!” Hinata said, giving the taller boy a thumbs up that he knew the viewers wouldn’t see. Lev returned it with a wide smile.

       “Sweet,” Kuroo said, changing the armor on his character. “Now, Kenma is literally leagues ahead of us because he could probably play this by himself on the most difficult level—”

       “He has,” Hinata offered.

       “Jesus,” Bokuto muttered.

       “We’ll just follow your lead.” Kuroo’s voice had a slight purr to it that made Kenma feel hot all over. He looked only to see Kuroo looking at him with that same dumb smirk he’d walked in here with. Kenma quickly looked away and started to give directions—the only time he would talk—so they could efficiently complete the mission.

       “What happens if I get Taken?” Bokuto asked 15 minutes later. “’Cause I’m _okay_ with platforming, but I’m not the best.”

       “You suck,” Komi said flatly. Kuroo almost died laughing and Kenma looked at him in shock; it was a loud, gross donkey laugh and it was beautiful. Why was it beautiful? If anyone else here had laughed like that (even Shou) Kenma would have found it embarrassing. So why was Kuroo any different?

       Kuroo sensed Kenma’s eyes and looked up, still smiling. Kenma felt his face flush slightly and he looked away, fiddling with his controller. Hinata snuggled up next to him, and Kuroo felt something akin to annoyance, but let it go easily.

       “I’m sure you’re not that bad, Bokuto-san.” Kenma muttered just loud enough for everyone to hear. “I taught Shou to platform and he was a nightmare.” This just caused another bout of laughter, and Kenma felt triumphant in the fact that he’d been the one to cause it, but Kuroo knew exactly what the other was doing.

       “Well, you’ll just have to see, won’t you…Kitten?” Kuroo’s voice was smooth, his tone amused. Kenma froze and frowned, staring at the screen with a nearly unreadable expression. His face felt warm and he was entirely aware of Kuroo staring at him, smug in the fact that Kenma was blushing… but he wouldn’t be for long.

       “Kenma,” Hinata warned, eyes flickering between the screen and the boy beside him. “Kenma I know that loo—”

 _Bang_. ChaoticKitten01 killed NekoBro. Headshot: They Wiped.

       Kuroo stared at his screen, wide-eyed as the room erupted into hysterical laughter. Bokuto was coughing from laughing so hard. Akaashi was laughing so hard he wasn’t making a sound. Yaku was doubled over and Lev was practically rolling on the floor after having fallen out of his seat. Even Komi, who’d seemed unfazed by most of the game-play, was snorting from laughing too much.

       “That has got to be,” Yaku gasped between giggles. “The _funniest_ thing I have ever witnessed in a video game.”

       “Jesus Christ,” Bokuto hooted, tears streaming down his face.

       “Get. Fucking. Wrecked.” Komi cackled. Kenma’s smirk was hidden behind the curtain that was his hair but Hinata saw it from the corner of his eye, which was fine as long as Kuroo didn’t see it. The usually smug boy was too distracted with his current failure to notice anyways.

       The rest of the Raid passed without incident save for the other time Kuroo made a smart remark and Kenma conveniently forgot to tell him to jump to the last platform resulting in his death. Luckily it was of little consequence to the mission overall unlike earlier when it had completely cost them the Raid—a small price to pay for Kuroo’s compliance, Kenma argued.

       And damn was Kuroo compliant; he was completely wrapped around Kenma’s finger and it was obvious to everyone in the room exactly how much so. Obvious to everyone but Kenma, that is.


	5. Emergency

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “It’s… I mean,” he let out a frustrated noise. “Apparently he did it again…”

       Day started to fade to evening, and despite the fact that recording had finished almost four hours ago, Kenma couldn’t it in himself to care. It was surprisingly relaxing and fun to be around people who were high-energy and excitable, and he didn’t want to leave. Besides, Hinata was having so much fun.

       They had eaten takeaway that Yaku had ordered and now Hinata was deep in conversation with Lev and Bokuto about something Kenma couldn’t be bothered to care about since he was busy with his PSP. From the small couch adjacent to his, he could feel Kuroo’s eyes examining him but by now he’s figured out how to deal with this.

       Kenma peered at Kuroo over the top of his device and waited exactly 3 seconds for Kuroo to realize he was staring back, turn red, and look away. Then Kenma went back to his game knowing that they’d repeat this process in about ten minutes. As the day went on, the taller boy had gotten less cautious about his staring which made Kenma feel strange, but a good kind of strange. It was slightly annoying, but extremely adorable. However, he’d be damned before he let himself admit that out loud to Kuroo’s stupidly attractive face.

       What he _couldn’t_ figure out was why Kuroo was staring at him in the first place. Maybe it was because he was just a new person in the office. Maybe it was because he had done so well during the recording. Maybe it was because of a million different reasons that Kenma could come up with, but never would he _ever_ think it was because Kuroo found Kenma to be so attractive and intelligent and snarky and amazing. Never… but it was.

       “… _eodil gana jurel seo yeojadeureun nal bomyeon_ …” Kenma’s ring tone sounded throughout the room. It suddenly became dead silent and nobody dared even breathe. Kenma felt a furious blush work its way from his shoulders to the tips of his ears and paused his game. Kuroo’s head whipped around, eyes searching for the source of the noise.

       “Who’s playing _Good Boy_?!” Kuroo asked, eyes darting between people. Everyone remained silent, exchanging glances. “I demand to know who’s playing GDYB in this office.” Kenma just reached over to his phone and hit ‘Ignore Call’. Oikawa could wait. Kuroo stared at him with wide eyes, but Kenma refused to look. Kuroo calmly walked out of the room and seconds later they heard a frustrated yell and a crash.

       “Jesus Christ,” Bokuto said, letting out the breath he’d been holding. Then he jumped onto the spot where Kuroo had been sitting from his spot on the floor. Kenma was keenly aware of the fact that now the only open spot was either directly beside him or on the floor.

       “Does Kuroo hate K-Pop that much?” Hinata asked, completely shocked. Kenma felt panic rise in his throat; did Kuroo hate him now? Would he ask Kenma to leave? How he could possibly draw the conclusion that Kuroo now _hates him_ simply because of his taste in music? It was ridiculous, but that didn’t mean he wasn’t going to worry anyways. (There was definitely no part of Kenma that whispered _Jesus Christ he’s so attractive, I will hate myself forever if I upset him…_ Nope. Those thoughts never crossed his mind, not even once.)

       “No,” Akaashi said, pinching the bridge of his nose. “Kuroo _loves_ K-Pop that much.”

       “He won’t listen to anything but Girls Generation or Bigbang or DangerDanger,” Bokuto told them. Hinata smiled widely at them but didn’t say anything. Kenma was relieved, but now he felt a different kind of unease; Kuroo would completely forget about him if he found out about Hinata... But he didn’t want anything with Kuroo anyways, so he supposed it was okay. At least, that’s what he would continue to tell himself.

       “After a while we created the _K-Pop Rule_ ,” Yaku explained, pointing to a sign on the wall. It was a large piece of poster board that Kenma had barely glanced at when they entered the office. Written in large red letters were the words ‘ **NO K-POP ALLOWED IN THE OFFICE** ’. In smaller letters it said, ‘ **Exceptions Include: Headphones. Being alone in the office. When Lev is in the office.** ’ Hinata and Kenma looked at Lev who grinned.

       “K-Pop is good music. I love DangerDanger. _Hit Patrol_ is my favourite song right now.” Lev explained. “Oh, and speaking of DangerDanger… Hinata. Has anyone ever told you that you look a lot like Sunny?” Hinata nodded, practically vibrating in his seat. Kenma put a hand on the other’s knee and squeezed slightly before going back to his PSP. _Calm down, you promised Kiyoko you’d stay chill today_.

       “Actually,” Yaku started, “That’s who I thought of when you first walked in.” Hinata stilled under Yaku’s gaze. _Uh oh_. This could end badly. He then noticed that Yaku wasn’t the only one examining him. It seemed the remark prompted the others to look as well since it was strange to hear Yaku so readily agreeing with Lev. Something was up. The longer they stared, Hinata’s smile started to fade.

       “I mean,” Hinata started slowly. “I… I _just_ look like him. I’m not _actually_ him or anything? That’d be crazy right? Haha, that’s so funny, right?” The words were not convincing. Yaku just raised an eyebrow at him.

       “Shou,” Kenma said, not looking up from his game. “You’re not good at this. You’ve never been good at hiding it.” _That’s why we bring Suga everywhere_ , he wanted to add. Suga—or Gemini as he was known in Korea—was the leader of DangerDanger who was pretty good at averting attention when people stared at them too long or asked questions that were too personal. However, Suga wasn’t with them, and Kenma knew Hinata was weak when it came to trying to tell a convincing lie.

       “Kenma,” Hinata pouted. “You’re supposed to help me out!” Kenma smirked slightly, still concentrated on the game in his hands. The only person he helped without a doubt was himself. Everyone else was fair game.

       “I’m sure Shizumi will understand that you’re just excited about what you do,” Kenma reassures him.

       The door opened once again and Kuroo stepped in, holding a soda and seeming pretty indifferent before he looked and realized that he now had to sit next to Kenma. Of course this didn’t upset him, but it was a pretty dick move on Bo’s part. Bokuto and Yaku gave him knowing looks to which he flipped them off and settled down beside Kenma, pulling out his phone and pretending he wasn’t nervous as hell when their shoulders brushed. He didn’t so much as even breathe in Kenma’s direction and the latter couldn’t tell if he was grateful or disappointed.

       “Oh!” Hinata remembered something, “What did Oika – oops, hold on.” His own phone started to buzz and he dug it out of his pocket, looking at it with pursed lips which broke into a grin when he saw the name on the screen, standing up and moving to an unoccupied corner of the room.

       “ _Yeoboseyo?_ ” Hinata said into the receiver as everyone started to go back to their own conversations. Kuroo looked at Hinata with confusion, not understanding the sudden language change. Yaku saw the expression on Kuroo’s face and realized that he was the only one there who didn’t know what Hinata did for a living.

       Kenma could hear the person on the other line speaking in a hurried and excited manner.

       “ _Cheoncheonhi malhae juseyo._ Slower,” Hinata said when the words started to sound muddled. They started again, slower this time. He nodded along, his eyebrows drawing together in concentration. “ _Ihae moshaeyo_.” Kenma paused his game and looked at Hinata with something that slightly resembled worry. Things didn’t sound like they were going well.

       Kuroo leaned a little closer to Kenma and asked, “Who is he talking to?”

       “His manager,” Kenma muttered, pulling out his phone and opening Twitter. “I think someone is hurt.” Kuroo gave him a concerned look which he returned with a shrug.

       “ _Jinjjayo?!_ ” Hinata shouted, eyes wide with panic. Kenma jumped at the loud sound, subconsciously leaning into Kuroo, his phone falling out of his hands. Kuroo reached out, easily catching the device with his left hand and ‘unknowingly’ placing his right hand on Kenma’s shoulder.

       “Here Kitten,” Kuroo murmured with that stupidly adorable lopsided smirk that Kenma hardly noticed because he was too busy frowning at Kuroo and attempting to calm the furious blush working its way across his face. Kenma met his eyes, slowly reaching out and wrapping his fingers around the phone. He decided to ignore the way his heart skipped a beat when he noticed Kuroo’s eyes and smile widen fractionally.

       Kenma may have lingered just a bit too long because he _definitely_ couldn’t ignore the way his heart (assuredly) stopped when Kuroo bit his bottom lip and looked him up and down for what had to be the hundredth time that day. Kenma hated this. He did not sign up for these horrible, foreign emotions he was experiencing at the moment, and _damnit_ he promised himself he wasn’t going to look away first, but he refused to let Kuroo see the blush that was starting to grow across his face. He snatched his phone and fumbled with it for a few seconds, before sinking further into his seat, hoping it would swallow him. All he noticed was the fact that _Kuroo’s arm was now around his shoulders, that smooth son of a bitch_. If it were anyone else, he would have bolted immediately, and Kuroo sensed this.

       In fact, Kuroo was fucking terrified that he’d crossed a boundary, but the way Kenma huffed and rolled his eyes, yet slouched against him anyway made him feel a lot better.

       Somewhere in Kenma’s mind he was half-heartedly translating the conversation Hinata was having, but he was busy scouring the _BBOver_ hashtag on Twitter. Things were not looking good at all.

       “ _Eodilo galkkayo?_ ” Hinata asked in a resigned manner.

_Shit_ , Kenma thought; he’d really been hoping that he was wrong about this. However, it seemed most likely that this was a call from Kiyoko—DangerDanger’s manager—to tell Hinata that someone was hurt. He watched as Hinata hung up and slumped down in his seat.

       “ _Yeogieseo meol-eoyo?_ The hospital.” Kenma asked him softly.

       “ _Gakkawoyo_ ,” Hinata muttered, pinching the bridge of his nose. “It’s… I mean,” he let out a frustrated noise. “Apparently he did it again…”

       “I know,” Kenma mused, showing Hinata his phone. “You should go before it gets crowded.” Hinata just frowned; he didn’t want to leave Kenma here but he knew it was the best course of action. Kenma refused to be around DangerDanger when there was the possibility of people seeing them and talking to him. Fans and press would definitely be around the hospital if Oikawa was hurt, and that meant Kenma wouldn’t go near there.

       “Alright,” Hinata said after a moment. “Are you sure? I can stay—”

       “Go,” Kenma said, grabbing his hand and squeezing it (which Kuroo totally didn’t feel a flash of jealousy at… no way, not at all). Hinata nodded and said his goodbyes. He exchanged numbers with Bokuto, Yaku, Lev, Kuroo, and Akaashi before promising Bokuto they’d hang out sometime and headed to the door.

       “I’ll text you, okay?” Hinata told Kenma with a grin and a kiss to the forehead which Kuroo also totally didn’t get upset at. Nope. Not in the slightest.

       “Sure,” Kenma said, rolling his eyes. “Go call Tobio.” Hinata’s eyes lit up at the mention of his boyfriend and he made this pretty annoyingly happy sound that Kenma was used to by now and darting out of the room. When the door closed behind him, Bokuto burst out laughing.

       “What the fuck was that sound he just made?!” He giggled.

       “Ugh,” Kenma rolled his eyes again and ran  hand through his hair, once again slouching against Kuroo. “I call it his ‘Boyfriend Recognition Indicator’. Every time someone mentions Kageyama, he goes all stupid.” They all laughed, but deep down they really understood where he was coming from. However, they were a little confused, especially Kuroo. Wasn’t Hinata Kenma’s boyfriend? Who was Kageyama? Why did Hinata know Korean? Or Kenma for that matter… and why did Hinata need to go to the hospital? Who was in the hospital? There were so many questions in his head, but luckily he didn’t have to ask the one that was plaguing him the most.

       “Wait,” Lev said. “I thought _you_ were dating Hinata?” Kenma sighs in a way that makes it obvious he’s been asked this question before; and it’s true. Everyone seemed to think he and Shou were an item, and it was honestly quite annoying, but he understood where they were coming from.

       “Yeah,” Kenma started with a sigh, pulling his knees up to his chest. “I can see where you could think that. Even Kageyama jokes that I could be mistaken for Shou’s boyfriend all the time. We’ve been best friends for 20 years but we’re definitely _not_ like that.” Kenma paused for a moment and gave Kuroo a quick, sidelong glance before adding, “We’ve _never_ been like that…” His voice died off at the end and he shook his hair in his face so nobody could see how red his face was before he pulled out his PSP. It was perfectly clear to everyone that Kenma only added that detail for Kuroo’s benefit. Meanwhile, Kuroo was too busy controlling his breathing and his impulse to stand up and yell in happiness. His face stayed blank aside for the smirk he had.

       “Besides,” Kenma said, still concentrated on his game. “I couldn’t date someone like him.” Kuroo was shocked. Was there something wrong with Hinata? Why would Kenma say that about his best friend?

       “Oh,” Yaku said after a second of thinking. “You mean because of his job, right?”

       “Right!” Bokuto chimed in. “You’re really shy. I wouldn’t wanna date an idol either if I were that shy.” Akaashi glared at Bokuto; despite the fact that what he said was true, he didn’t phrase it in a very kind way. Bokuto gave him a big helpless grin. Akaashi rolled his eyes but didn’t hide the small smile on his face.

       “Wait, what?” Kuroo asked, brows furrowed.

       “What? Oh right,” Lev said. “You weren’t here for that.”

       Bokuto explained, “While you were busy trying to control your gay—”

       “Bro!” Kuroo interjected, turning bright red. Kenma giggled loud enough for only Kuroo to hear. _He’s too fucking cute_ , Kuroo thought.

       “—we found out that Hinata is a member of DangerDanger.” Kuroo sputtered and Bokuto laughed at him causing Akaashi to reprimand him yet again.

       “I thought you would have been the first to figure that out,” Yaku added with a smirk.

       “Yeah, all you listen to is DangerDanger and OVER,” Lev said.

       “Look,” Kuroo said, holding up a hand. “I’m not a crazy fangirl who learns everything about their favourite group. Gem is my bias so I only know about him.”

       “Suga’s my bias too,” Kenma mutters. “Don’t tell Shou.” Kuroo chuckled; a sound that made Kenma feel very happy and safe. It was weird though. Kenma had only met Kuroo today and they hadn’t even talked that much, but it was almost like they didn’t even need to. There was something completely unspoken that they just seemed to agree on.

       There was a knock on the door and someone that Kenma didn’t recognize stuck their head in. “Hey, we need the editing guys ASAP,” he said with a smile.

       “Alright Sou, thanks,” Yaku said, moving to stand.

       “No problem. Komi also needs to talk to you, Akaashi,” Sou added before he left. Everyone aside from Kenma and Kuroo moved to stand, which Kenma didn’t think anything about yet Kuroo looked at everyone suspiciously. Kenma supposed it was time for him to leave anyways even though he didn’t want to.

       “It was really nice to meet you!” Yaku told him with a smile.

       “Yeah, that was really fun,” Lev added.

       “So fun!” Bokuto exclaimed, throwing his hands up. Kenma smiled at them and nodded. It certainly was fun; he wouldn’t mind doing something like this later in the future.

       “C’mon guys, you know Tsukishima isn’t patient,” Akaashi reminded them.

       “Alright, alright,” Lev pouted before turning to walk out the door. Akaashi and Yaku filed out behind him, but before he left, Bokuto looked at Kenma and smiled.

       “Make sure Hinata gives you our phone numbers! We’ll bug him until he does,” he laughs and waves goodbye. Kenma flushes slightly but nods again and waves back. Then the room was empty except for Kenma and Kuroo who were… sitting rather close.

       “Alone at last,” Kuroo murmurs, leaning back and staring up at the ceiling. Kenma snorts but doesn’t say anything. “Did you really have fun today or are you just pretending?” Kenma paused his game and considered the question.

       “I mean,” he looked up at Kuroo, his head resting back against the other boys arm. Kuroo had to keep himself from reaching up with his other hand and pushing Kenma’s hair out of his face. There was a solid ten seconds where they just looked at one another. “I-it was interesting,” Kenma tells him, looking away.

       “So you didn’t hate it,” Kuroo said, still watching Kenma’s profile, feeling a sliver of pride at the flush that graced the smaller boy’s features.

       “I didn’t hate it,” Kenma agrees, smiling slightly. After a second he says, “I was nervous because I didn’t really understand why anyone would want to do a video with me.”

       “What?” Kuroo asked in confusion. “Who _wouldn’t_ want to do a video with you?”

       “I’m quiet,” Kenma shrugged. “I’ve been told that my personality is off-putting.”

       “Those people are fucking stupid.” Kuroo said immediately. “I like the fact that you’re quiet. It means that when you talk there’s a reason.” Kenma looked at Kuroo, searching for a sign of insincerity, yet found nothing but honesty.

       “I-I guess,” Kenma managed, flushing darker red; at this point, he assumed all of the blood in his entire body was circulating his head. That’s just what Kuroo did to him. But he didn’t know the things he did to Kuroo. He didn’t know how badly the taller boy wanted to just hug him or kiss his face or hold his hand. Kuroo was completely aware of how insane it all seemed; he hardly knew Kenma. However, he was also completely aware of how badly he _wanted_ to know Kenma, and how quickly. Every time the smaller boy blushed because of something he did, he just wanted to stop and stare forever.

_You’re going to kill me if you keep being so cute_ , Kuroo thought, watching Kenma carefully. Suddenly Kenma’s eyes went wide which confused Kuroo for a second… before he realized he’d been thinking out loud. Oh well.

       “I wanted to tell you that all day,” Kuroo admitted with a shrug. Kenma looked away quickly, shaking his hair in his face so Kuroo couldn’t see the stupid smile that was forcing its way onto his expression. Kuroo could tell he’d entered foreign territory, so he decided to get Kenma’s mind off of it all. “Wasn’t Hinata your ride home?”

       “Uh,” Kenma started awkwardly. _Shit_. He really hadn’t thought of that. Their apartment wasn’t that far away but Kenma’s anxiety had kept them from taking public transportation or walking… but he’d be damned if he told Kuroo that. “I mean, Kageyama dropped us off. I’ll be okay though.”

       “Really?” Kuroo asked, cocking his head to the side. Kenma didn’t strike him as the type to really be okay on his own out during the early evening, but he didn’t want to make it seem as if he thought Kenma incapable of taking care of himself.

       Kenma felt a seed of anxiety plant itself in his stomach. No, he would definitely _not_ be okay, and seeing as how he and Kuroo had a strange sort of telepathy, he wasn’t sure he’d be able to convince the other he’d be fine. So he decided to tell the truth.

       “Honestly? No,” Kenma said, giving Kuroo a sidelong glance.

       “I could just drop you off if you want,” Kuroo said before he could stop himself. Goddamnit, now he looked desperate. He didn’t want to give the wrong impression—yes, he _really_ liked Kenma, but he didn’t want to come off too strong.

       “What?” Kenma looked at him incredulously. “No, that’s… I don’t want anyone going out of their way for me.” Oh. _That’s_ what Kenma was worried about? Someone going out of their way for him? Kuroo would go miles out of his way if it meant Kenma felt safe or comfortable.

       “It’s not going out of my way if I want to,” Kuroo told him, brows furrowed. Kenma was about to protest when the alarm on his phone went off, signaling it was time for him to leave. “You have to go?” Kuroo tried to keep the disappointment out of his voice.

       “Yeah,” Kenma said, silencing the alarm before reaching down and picking up his backpack. Kenma fiddled with the strap before telling him, “I have to feed my cats.”

       Kuroo gasped, eyes wide with wonder, and he grabbed Kenma’s arm, “How many cats do you have? What kind of cats are they? How old are they? What are their names?” Kenma stared at where Kuroo’s hand was gripping his arm causing the other boy to quickly release him and smile sheepishly. “I just really love cats.” Kenma’s eyes flickered to his but he remained silent. Kuroo started to panic, “I’m so sorry, please don’t hate me, I’m _so sorry_.”

       Then Kenma did something unexpected: he burst out laughing. It was an honest-to-god, stomach-cramping laugh that left his lungs burning for air; he couldn’t remember the last time he laughed like this. It was refreshing. He didn’t even care that he was snorting slightly or that tears were running down his face. Kuroo stared at him in awe—Kenma sure was adorable but when he laughed like this he was just plain _stunning_. It wasn’t fair that he could make Kuroo’s brain go all fuzzy and his heart clench and his stomach jump into his throat just by simply smiling.

       “I’m sorry,” Kenma managed between giggles, wiping the corners of his eyes. “It’s really not that funny. You’re just too cute.” His laugh stopped abruptly, _Shit. I did **not** just say that_. But he did. And Kuroo definitely heard him.

       Kuroo’s face slowly spread into a grin that almost hurt. “You just called me cute.”

       “No I didn’t,” Kenma said, brows furrowing.

       “Yes you did, I heard you,” Kuroo’s smile faded to a smirk. Kenma wanted to hit him for being such an adorable, smug asshole, but he was partially relieved that Kuroo was responding this positively.

       “Whatever you want to think, Kuro.” Kenma hummed, standing up and heading towards the door, leaving Kuroo rooted in place. It wasn’t until the shorter boy was halfway down the hallway that it registered in Kuroo’s mind that Kenma had given him a nickname.

       “ _What?!_ ” Kenma laughed as he heard Kuroo’s confused voice from the room he’d just left. As his hand was pushing the front door open, he heard the jingling of keys behind and paused, looking over his shoulder. Kuroo was holding up his keys.

       “I said I’d drop you off,” Kuroo smiled at him.

       “And I said not to worry about it,” Kenma tells him with a raised brow. Kuroo rolls his eyes and grabbed Kenma’s shoulders, steering him out the door the same way Hinata had steered him in when they had arrived. They didn’t say anything until they reached Kuroo’s car, parked in the lot behind the building. It was surprisingly nice and clean and when Kuroo turned it on, _Hello_ _Bitches_ was playing. Kenma found himself smiling when Kuroo embarrassedly fumbled for the dial and changed it to _Try Hard_.

       “You really didn’t need to—”

       “Kenma, seriously. It’s fine.” Kuroo said, backing out of his spot. Kenma just nodded and relaxed in his seat. They drove in comfortable silence save for the occasional directional suggestion. Kenma hummed to the music— _Try Hard_ , _Hate_ , _Her,_ and _Hit Patrol_ —and twelve minutes later, they pulled up into the parking lot of Kenma’s building.

       “Jesus Christ,” Kuroo said, laughing slightly.

       “What?” Kenma asked with concern.

       “It’s just…” Kuroo looked at him with a blinding grin. “I should thank you for this.”

       “Why? _You’re_ the one who drove _me_ home.” Kenma’s brows furrowed.

       “You showed me a new way home.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It was strangely difficult to write this chapter? There were a lot of parts that I wanted to add that I ended up leaving out because I think they're details that pertain to Hinata's story and not this one. 
> 
> TRANSLATION:  
> Yeoboseyo? | Hello?  
> Cheoncheonhi malhae juseyo. | Please talk slowly.  
> Ihae moshaeyo. | I don’t understand.  
> Jinjjayo?! | Really?!  
> Eodilo galkkayo? | Where should I go?  
> Yeogieseo meol-eoyo? | Is it far from here?  
> Gakkawoyo. | It’s close.
> 
> Kenma's ringtone for Oikawa is [Good Boy by G-Dragon and Taeyang](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1ZRb1we80kM) and is one of my favourite songs of all time. 
> 
> The songs mentioned in Kuroo's car...  
> [Hello Bitches by CL](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8o4Zj98FeX4)  
> [Try Hard by BTS](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9qC7HNFRjEY)  
> [Hate by 4minute](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D_F9HUTYnl0)  
> [Her by Block B](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7B-TbxlMqp0)  
> Hit Patrol is a made up song by DangerDanger (the made up K-Pop group that Hinata is a part of)


	6. The Podcast

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> YAKU: Hey, thanks for tuning in to the Cats Defy Gravity Podcast. Today we are sponsored by absolutely nobody, help us we need money.

**YAKU** : Hey, thanks for tuning in to the Cats Defy Gravity Podcast. Today we are sponsored by absolutely nobody, help us we need money. I am Yaku.

 **BOKUTO** : I’m Bokuto.

 **LEV** : Lev.

 **YAKU** : Kuroo isn’t here right now, he’ll be here a little later, but today we have a special guest! They are the newest member of the Crows Division, and an honorary HQGamer, Yamaguchi Tadashi.

 **BOKUTO** : Hey hey hey!

 **YAMAGUCHI** : Hello there.

 **LEV** : Welcome to the company!

 **YAMAGUCHI** : Thank you, Lev.

 **YAKU** : Now, you aren’t technically an employee, right?

 **YAMAGUCHI** : Right. I’m an animator and I kind of work around here and there. Akaashi talked to me about _CD-Rom_ which I’m technically not allowed to talk about.

 **LEV** : That’s the new series right?

 **YAKU** : Yes and Yamaguchi is correct. We’re not allowed to talk about it, but we _can_ say this: it’s a new animated series that’s coming out at the end of the year and Yamaguchi is the lead animator.

 **BOKUTO** : I’m so excited for that.

 **LEV** : You’re just excited because you’re in it.

 **BOKUTO** : What’s wrong with that?

 **YAKU** : Nothing, but we can’t talk about it.

 **BOKUTO** : Fine.

 **YAKU** : Stop pouting, it’s really unattractive.

 **BOKUTO** : _You’re_ unattractive!

 **LEV** : No, _you’re_ unattractive!

 **YAKU** : Hey children, shut up.

 **YAMAGUCHI** : - _laughs_ -

 **LEV** : Yaku-saaaaaan! He called you unattractive.

 **YAKU** : I don’t care what he called me, you’re getting off topic. Anyways, Yamaguchi.

 **YAMAGUCHI** : Yes!

 **YAKU** : I’m interested to know if you’ve met any of the other guys in the Crow Division.

 **BOKUTO** : Oh man, yeah I’m interested in this.

 **YAMAGUCHI** : No I have not. Why?

 **LEV** : Well.

 **YAMAGUCHI** : Are they rude or something?

 **BOKUTO** : Tsukishima is. Tanaka’s a little hyperactive.

 **YAKU** : _Tanaka’s_ hyperactive?!

 **BOKUTO** : Hey, what are you implying?

 **YAKU** : If you think I’m implying anything, you’ve answered your question.

 **YAMAGUCHI** : I’m not worried about Tsukishima.

 **BOKUTO** : Really?

 **YAMAGUCHI** : Definitely not. I think maybe he just needs someone that he can relate to.

 **LEV** : Alright, I wanna bet on this one.

 **YAKU** : No, Lev. We’re not doing that.

 **YAMAGUCHI** : Doing what?

 **BOKUTO** : Yeah! I wanna bet on it!

 **YAMAGUCHI** : Bet on what?

 **YAKU** : No, you guys are not betting on this.

 **YAMAGUCHI** : What are you talking about?!

 **YAKU** : Sorry, Yamaguchi.

 **BOKUTO** : We tend to do this thing where, like.

 **LEV** : We bet to see if someone develops a crush on someone else.

 **YAMAGUCHI** : What?

 **YAKU** : Yeah, it’s a problem.

 **BOKUTO** : Problem? It’s entertainment.

 **YAKU** : It’s invasive and rude.

 **BOKUTO** : We bet on you and Lev.

 **YAKU** : You what now?

 **BOKUTO** : I forgot about that, but yeah.

 **YAKU** : You bet on us?

 **BOKUTO** : It was over a year ago!

 **YAKU** : _You bet on us?_

 **BOKUTO** : Don’t get mad.

 **LEV** : Yeah, it worked out didn’t it!

 **YAKU** : You. _You knew about this?!_

 **LEV** : …what?

 **BOKUTO** : Oh shit.

 **YAMAGUCHI** : This is not good.

 **YAKU** : Lev, I cannot believe you!

 **YAMAGUCHI** : Alright, what were we talking about? Someone, anyone, change the subject. Production? No? Okay then.

 **YAKU** : Since this is the podcast and it’s live, I’ll come back to this later.

 **LEV** : Thank god.

 **YAKU** : But I _will_ come back to it later.

 **BOKUTO** : R.I.P. Haiba Lev. He lived a good life.

 **From Off Screen** : What are we talking about?

 **BOKUTO** : Kuroo!

 **LEV** : Thank god, please save us.

 **KUROO** : What’s going on? Hey Yamaguchi.

 **YAMAGUCHI** : Hello Kuroo!

 **BOKUTO** : Yaku found out about The Bet.

 **KUROO** : Ah. I can proudly say I stayed out of that one.

 **BOKUTO** : Oh yeah. Why was that again?

 **KUROO** : Because I didn’t want to see the Disapproving Mom Face when he found out. Anyways, Yamaguchi the guys over in animation wanted me to tell you that they needed you.

 **YAMAGUCHI** : Oh alright! It was really fun to be here guys!

 **BOKUTO** : It was great to have you!

 **YAMAGUCHI** : I’ll see you all later.

 **LEV** : See ya!

 **KUROO** : They’re a good kid.

 **YAKU** : Yeah they are.

 **BOKUTO** : I want to bet on it.

 **YAKU** : We can’t bet on this one.

 **BOKUTO** : Why not?

 **YAKU** : Because we’d all be arguing the same thing!

 **LEV** : What do you mean?

 **YAKU** : It’s not a bet if we all think that they’ll end up together.

 **BOKUTO** : When Tsukki sees this we’re all dead.

 **KUROO** : You’re fucking stupid if you think Tsukishima watches the podcast.

 **YAKU** : Yeah, but he has this uncanny ability to know when we’re talking about him.

 **KUROO** : Ah, that’s true.

 **LEV** : Either way, I still think they’ll end up together.

 **BOKUTO** : Same.

 **YAKU** : Alright well, as of right now I’m not sure they’ll see each other enough for Yamaguchi to actually like him.

 **KUROO** : What about Tsukishima?

 **YAKU** : What do you mean?

 **KUROO** : Does that also apply to him?

 **YAKU** : No, Tsukishima develops crushes easily.

 **BOKUTO** : We’re really dead aren’t we? We can’t talk about him like this! He’ll actually kill us!

 **LEV** : No he won’t.

 **BOKUTO** : Of course _you_ say that. You’re not the one who woke up in the goddamned Emergency Room last Christmas.

 **KUROO** : You broke his fucking nose! What did you expect?

 **YAKU** : Seriously someone change the subject.

 **KUROO** : Well what do you want to talk about, Yaku?

 **YAKU** : How about the last Let’s Play?

 **BOKUTO** : - _laughing hysterically_ -

 **YAKU** : Oh my god he’s crying.

 **LEV** : There are tears in his eyes; he’s laughing so hard he’s crying.

 **BOKUTO** : It was so funny!

 **KUROO** : It wasn’t that funny, bro.

 **YAKU** : It was fucking hilarious.

 **KUROO** : It’s wasn’t that funny!

 **LEV** : I loved the fact that he just fucking shut you down.

 **BOKUTO** : Denied.

 **YAKU** : For those of you who don’t watch our Let’s Plays, we’re talking about a video we just filmed about a week ago with another gamer on YouTube called ChaoticKitten.

 **LEV** : He’s a fantastic player.

 **BOKUTO** : Yeah, he’s really talented.

 **KUROO** : We’re lucky he was on our side. We would have been dead immediately.

 **YAKU** : You wouldn’t have minded.

 **KUROO** : What?

 **BOKUTO** : You totally wouldn’t have minded.

 **LEV** : Not one bit.

 **KUROO** : What the hell are you guys talking about?

 **YAKU** : As long as he was there, you wouldn’t have cared.

 **KUROO** : Don’t do this to me, I just got here.

 **LEV** : It’s true though! You have the biggest crush on him it’s hilarious.

 **KUROO** : This is what I get for coming to the podcast on my day off. I could fire all of you, you are aware of that right?

 **YAKU** : You wouldn’t though.

 **KUROO** : Wouldn’t I?

 **LEV** : Shit, remember the time he fired Kai for a week?

 **BOKUTO** : Jesus I remember that yeah.

 **KUROO** : You’re lucky you’re right though. Who _wouldn’t_ have a crush on him?

 **YAKU** : Me?

 **BOKUTO** : You don’t count. You’re picky.

 **KUROO** : Which is why I never understood how you and Lev got together.

 **YAKU** : Hey!

 **LEV** : It’s okay, Yaku!

 **YAKU** : No it’s not. The next person to insult my boyfriend is getting a fist to the throat.

 **BOKUTO** : That’s more likely than Kuroo firing us.

 **KUROO** : Fact.

 **YAKU** : All jokes aside, Kenma was really fun to play with.

 **KUROO** : He really was. Oh and don’t think I missed what you did.

 **BOKUTO** : I… have no idea what you’re talking about.

 **KUROO** : Yes you do.

 **BOKUTO** : Nope.

 **KUROO** : You left me alone with him on purpose!

 **LEV** : They needed us in editing!

 **KUROO** : Oh, and they _really_ needed to talk to Akaashi as well?

 **YAKU** : I mean…

 **KUROO** : I knew it.

 **YAKU** : That’s not even the most interesting thing that came out of that day.

 **KUROO** : I have no idea what you’re talking about.

 **BOKUTO** : Yes you do.

 **LEV** : I’m having déjà vu.

 **KUROO** : Very funny, but seriously. You know we can’t talk about Hinata.

 **BOKUTO** : That’s not what I meant. I mean what you told me happened after we left.

 **KUROO** : Ah. Right. That…

 **YAKU** : What? What happened?

 **BOKUTO** : You don’t know?

 **YAKU** : No, he didn’t tell me.

 **BOKUTO** : Apparently—

 **KUROO** : Kenma didn’t have a ride home and I wasn’t about to make him walk especially since his ride left, so I drove him home.

 **LEV** : And?

 **KUROO** : And I found out that apparently… we live in the same building.

 **LEV** : No!

 **YAKU** : Christ alive, are you serious?

 **KUROO** : Completely.

 **BOKUTO** : That’s convenient.

 **KUROO** : Don’t be a pervert, you asshole.

 **BOKUTO** : That’s not what I meant!

 **KUROO** : Isn’t it?

 **BOKUTO** : Well…

 **KUROO** : Exactly. Don’t be a pervert.

 **YAKU** : Bokuto can’t help it.

 **LEV** : He’s just a pervert.

 **BOKUTO** : I’m not a pervert! I was just saying what we’re all thinking.

 **KUROO** : Whatever you want to believe, bro.

 **BOKUTO** : You’re supposed to be there for me, bro.

 **KUROO** : Bro, I’m always there for you bro.

 **YAKU** : Enough with the bromance.   
**LEV** : What else do you expect, Yaku-san?

 **BOKUTO** : Yeah, what Lev said!

 **KUROO** : He’s my one and only bro.

 **BOKUTO** : Bro.

 **YAKU** : _Enough_.

 **KUROO** : Fine.

 **BOKUTO** : You’re no fun.

 **YAKU** : I’m tons of fun. I’m just not an idiot.

 **KUROO** : Oya oya oya? What about last month when you w—

 **YAKU** : _Shut your fucking mouth._

 **BOKUTO** : - _laughs_ -

 **LEV** : What happened last month?

 **YAKU** : Nothing, Lev.

 **LEV** : Lev wants to know!

 **YAKU** : Remember when you knew that Bokuto made a bet on us and you didn’t tell me?

 **LEV** : You know, uh. Maybe I don’t need to know.

 **KUROO** : Smooth.

 **BOKUTO** : So you really live in the same building as Kenma?

 **KUROO** : Yep.

 **YAKU** : Hey I’m on the hashtag on Twitter right now.

 **BOKUTO** : Oya?

 **YAKU** : There are literally only four things that everyone is saying. The first is that they want to know more about _CD-Rom_. The second is them asking me to kick Lev’s ass. The third is them asking about Hinata. The last is them saying how badly they ship Kuroo and Kenma.

 **BOKUTO** : Hm. Interesting.

 **YAKU** : Well we can’t really talk about _CD-Rom_.

 **KUROO** : I mean. Okay I can say this much, but only because I’m one of the creative directors for the company.

 **BOKUTO** : Pfft.

 **KUROO** : Bokuto is one of the main characters and so are Akaashi and Tsukishima. Yamaguchi is the lead animator and the script is written by me, Iwazumi, and Akaashi.

 **YAKU** : They also wanna know what _CD-Rom_ stands for.

 **KUROO** : It stands fo—oh, wait. Production crew is shaking their head. Apparently I’m not supposed to talk about that.

 **LEV** : Alrighty then, moving on!

 **BOKUTO** : Yaku, kick Lev’s ass.

 **YAKU** : I’m not going to kick Lev’s ass. Right now.

 **LEV** : Yaku-saaaaan!

 **YAKU** : Don’t you ‘Yaku-san’ me you overgrown string bean.

 **KUROO** : That’s a new one.

 **YAKU** : They also wanted us to talk about Hinata.

 **LEV** : We cannot.

 **BOKUTO** : That’s true, we can’t.

 **KUROO** : What was the last thing?

 **YAKU** : Oh you mean everyone shipping you and Kenma?

 **KUROO** : I don’t know what that means.

 **LEV** : Yes you do!

 **KUROO** : No? Oh wait. Is that the thing where they, like.

 **BOKUTO** : Think you’re cute together? Yes.

 **KUROO** : Oh.

 **BOKUTO** : Christ, are you blushing?

 **LEV** : Kuroo’s blushing!

 **KUROO** : Shut the fuck up!

 **LEV** : You guys are so cute, though.

 **KUROO** : Listen. Kenma’s adorable, alright?

 **LEV** : Sure.

 **BOKUTO** : Obviously.

 **YAKU** : Of course.

 **KUROO** : But I don’t want you guys talking about this shit. He’s not exactly the kind of guy who likes attention. Ship us if you want, but I don’t want to hear it.

 **YAKU** : You’re very considerate.

 **KUROO** : I’d like to think so.

 **LEV** : You know…

 **YAKU** : What?

 **LEV** : If you just take one second to think about it, it’s kind of amazing how gay this entire company is.

 **BOKUTO** : I… that’s a really good point. I don’t think there’s a single one of us who’s straight.

 **LEV** : There’s gotta be someone.

There isn’t.

 **KUROO** : Out of 73 people, one of us has to be straight.

 **LEV** : I think Miko in animation is straight?

 **YAKU** : No she’s Bisexual.

 **BOKUTO** : Huh. It’s not, like. A requirement, right?

 **KUROO** : To work here? God no.

 **BOKUTO** : Literally nobody here cares what your sexuality is.

 **YAKU** : Which is probably why there are so many LGBT people who work here.

 **LEV** : That’s true. We’re pretty open about it.

 **KUROO** : Aw shit.

 **YAKU** : What?

 **KUROO** : We gotta cut the podcast short today.

 **BOKUTO** : Oya oya oya?

 **KUROO** : Oya oya oya, there’re things we gotta do.

 **BOKUTO** : Fuck, I completely forgot!

 **KUROO** : I can tell.

 **YAKU** : Alright. Well we’re really sorry to everyone who expected the podcast to be the usual length.

 **LEV** : There’s something kinda top secret that we have to go do, but we will see you all very soon!


	7. Something I Could Get Used To

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “Fine. Are you gonna be alright without my amazing presence?”
> 
> “Hm.” Kuroo looked down at Kenma and smiled. “Somehow I think I’ll manage.”

       Kenma’s apartment was a rather nice one. Three bedrooms, two bathrooms, a relatively spacious kitchen, a nice living room, and a door that was double bolted. Obviously they lived in a decent area, but Kenma felt better with the extra protection and Hinata didn’t argue. Their apartment building was relatively nice as well and their rent wasn’t too steep, but there now appeared a new perk that Kenma never thought he’d be excited about.

       “So you live here…” Kenma murmured as he unlocked his door and stepped inside. When Kuroo had told him that they lived in the same building, he had been shocked. How long had Kuroo lived in his building? Kenma would feel beyond embarrassed if the other had been living there for some time and he hadn’t noticed.

       “Yeah, I moved in down the hall about a week ago,” Kuroo told him, toeing off his shoes and standing by the door. A loud meow rang through the air and Kuroo gasped, eyes going wide. Kenma couldn’t help but smile at his child-like reaction; it was downright adorable.

       Kenma had four cats; Link, Zelda, Eren, and Hal. Zelda was a four month old Siberian Cat with blue eyes and a confidence that did not match her size or age. Eren was a nine month old black cat with green eyes and a taste for shoe laces and dark places. Link was an adventurous Abyssinian and was almost two years old. Hal was a three year old grey-haired Munchkin who essentially lived on Kenma’s lap and hated everyone. Kenma loved them all and constantly had to fight the urge to adopt another—Hinata’s pleading helped.

       “Hello Link,” Kenma said as he set his keys on the table beside the door. Seconds later a cat stealthily rounded the corner and crouched down, staring up at Kuroo with limited interest in his large golden eyes.

       “He’s so pretty,” Kuroo whispered with a wide smile. Link certainly was gorgeous, but Kuroo wasn’t about to tell Kenma what he was really thinking; that the cat’s golden eyes and beautiful tan fur reminded him of something else…

       “Link is pretty.” Kenma agreed, dropping his backpack on the couch and patting his hip a few times. Link sprang forward and darted up into Kenma’s arms. “I think Zelda’s prettier.” As if she could sense the mention of her name, a speckled white ball of fur came barreling around the corner and right into Kuroo’s ankle.

       “I. She’s. Holy shit.” Kuroo sputtered before leaning down and carefully picking the mewling, confused mess up into his arms. Kenma just watched them carefully, feeling a warm sense of pride as Kuroo cooed over Zelda. They were both so cute in their own ways but together it made his heart stop.

       “Kenma?” Kuroo asked him, cocking his head to the side. In lieu of answering, Kenma dropped Link gently and made his way to the kitchen. When he reached the counter on the far right, he opened the drawer to his left and pulled out four small bowls. As he moved, he could feel Kuroo’s eyes boring holes into him.

       “Yes?” Kenma asked, opening a new can of cat food and dividing it between two bowls. Kuroo shrugged as he scratched behind Zelda’s ears. “Don’t shrug at me.”

       “How could you even see that?” Kuroo asked him with a laugh.

       “I took a wild guess,” Kenma told him, dishing out two scoops of dry food—one into Zelda’s bowl and one into Eren’s—and grimaced. He always felt bad for the cats that were stuck eating food made for kittens while the others could eat wet food. “So why are you staring?”

       “You’re cute,” Kuroo explained without hesitation. Kenma nearly dropped Eren’s bowl, but managed to recover rather easily. Perhaps he was getting good at this whole ‘Accept-The-Compliment’ thing.

       “Eren! Hal!” Kenma called to his cats as he placed Link’s bowl on the cat tree in the corner of the kitchen. Eren entered the kitchen as nothing more than a black blur while Hal came padding in on his short legs looking tired and purring happily. _Must’ve just woken up_ , Kenma decided, reaching down to pet him a few times and throwing the empty cans of Fancy Feast away.

       “Jesus. Fucking. Lord.”

       “Hm?” Kenma turned around to see Kuroo lying on the floor with his face close to Hal’s dish, watching him as he ate. It was the funniest thing he’d seen all day; a grown-ass man lying on the floor obsessing and freaking out over a fluffy cat with tiny legs.

       “Look at his little legs! They’re so cute! They’re so small!” Hal didn’t even mind, which was a given since he was eating, but Kenma was too busy laughing so hard that he almost fell over.

       “What are you doing?” Kenma gasped through his laughs.

       “Kenma!” Kuroo whined, standing up and pouting and wow. _He’s insanely attractive_ , Kenma found himself thinking.

       “Yes, Kuro?” Kenma asked, putting a hand on his hip.

       “You know,” Kuroo said, eyes narrowing slightly despite the adoring smile on his face. “It’s really unfair.”

       “What are you talking about?” Kenma felt the same sort of unease he’d been feeling all day; a flutter in his stomach, his heart racing, his brain foggy… every time Kuroo looked at him like this he felt like all the air had left his lungs. _Honestly_ , Kenma thought. _I didn’t sign up for this_.

       “It’s not fair that…” Kuroo squirmed and looked at Kenma hard; he wanted to say what was on his mind, but he knew that Kenma was already skittish and shy. Depending on how their day had gone, he could tell they had chemistry. He didn’t want to take the risk that he fucked up his chance, so he just looked away with a blush and said, “Never mind…”

 _Goddamnit, stop being so fucking adorable_.

       “Whatever you say,” Kenma says, shrugging his shoulders and brushing past him to enter the living room. They wouldn’t admit it, but now they were both at a loss for what to do or say. Was Kenma supposed to invite him to stay? Was he supposed to kick him out? Was Kuroo supposed to offer to leave? Should he have told Kenma what he was thinking? Luckily they don’t have to do anything because at that moment Kuroo gets a phone call.

       “Brokuto!” Kuroo says into the phone, following Kenma into the living room. Kenma sat down and turned on the TV and his Xbox One.

       “ _Kubro!_ ”

       “What’s up?” Kuroo sat next to Kenma and instinctively put his arm around the smaller boy’s shoulders—Kenma didn’t mind in the least but almost laughed at how Kuroo didn’t even realize what he was doing.

       “ _I wanted to let you know I won’t be home tonight._ ”

       “Again?” Kuroo asks, eyebrows drawing together. Kenma looks at him as he pulls out the controller he had in his backpack and connected to Xbox Live. Despite his instincts telling him that he shouldn’t get too comfortable, he couldn’t help but relax back into Kuroo’s side.

       “ _Sorry, bro_.”

       “You don’t sound sorry, but as long as you’re still paying rent, I don’t care if you ever come home.” Kenma giggled and Kuroo raised his free hand, ruffling his hair. Kenma elbowed him slightly but continued to open _Cloudberry Kingdom_.

       “ _Rude_.”

       “I speak the truth.”

       “ _Fine. Are you gonna be alright without my amazing presence?_ ”

       “Hm.” Kuroo looked down at Kenma and smiled. “Somehow I think I’ll manage.”

       “ _Wait a second. I know that voice._ ”

       “I… have no idea what you’re talking about.”

       “ _Yes you do. Wait. Are you with Kenma?!_ ”

       “No!” Kuroo spoke a little too loudly, causing Kenma to jump. Kuroo rubbed his shoulder soothingly and rest his head on top of Kenma’s as an apology.  

       “ _Yes you are! I want details when I get home!_ ”

       “Pfft. Sure,” Kuroo said sarcastically, rolling his eyes. “I’ll tell you all the details of the thing that’s not even happening.” Before Bokuto could reply, Kuroo hung up and sighed, hugging Kenma closer to his side.

       “Bokuto?” Kenma asked, his eyes trained on the television as he pointedly ignored the thudding of his heart against his ribcage.

       “Yeah,” Kuroo mutters, slouching against Kenma tiredly.

       “Excuse you?” Kenma asked, elbowing him again.

       “You’re comfortable and I’m tired.” Kuroo murmurs into Kenma’s hair. A small meow interrupted Kenma’s train of thought, and he paused his game, shifting to make room for Hal to climb into his lap. Kuroo reaches over and pets Hal softly causing the cat to purr and lean into his hand. Kenma was absolutely amazed; when Hal is eating he’s typically too distracted to care about who’s around him, but even on a good day he can barely even stand Hinata. Yet here he was, purring into Kuroo’s hand.

       “He actually likes you,” Kenma said in awe.

       “Hm?” Kuroo pulls back and looks down at Kenma.

       “Hal. He likes you.”

       “Is that odd?” Kuroo asked, cocking his head to the side.

       “Hal hates everyone.” Kenma said plainly; his head started going fuzzy as he realized how close their faces were. Kuroo blushed, eyes widening in realization, but he didn’t move to back away.

       “It’s not fair…” Kuroo quietly says again.

       “What, Kuro?” Kenma asked, raising an eyebrow. Kuroo tries to clamp down the smile that wants to break on his face when he hears the nickname. It’s such a subtle distortion of his name, but just enough for it to be obvious to him the affection behind it.

       “Just…” Kuroo looks at him with his heart-stopping crooked smirk. “It’s not fair that you have four cats, but you’re still the cutest Kitten.”

       “You’re so embarrassing.” Kenma looked away, his face going beet red.

       “I beg to differ,” Kuroo laughed, nuzzling Kenma’s hair. Jesus, Kuroo was entirely too embarrassing for his own good, and too affectionate for Kenma’s. This should have felt weird, right? Kenma should have felt upset that his private space was being invaded by this guy he hardly knew… but he wasn’t. He couldn’t care less. In fact, he was ecstatic; typically the only people he could be affectionate with were Hinata, Kageyama, Suga, and Oikawa. This was different. It was nice. It wasn’t a close friend. It wasn’t someone he felt for platonically.

       It was. It was Kuroo. The dangerously pretty boy who loved video games and K-Pop and cats as much as he did. The tall boy with crazy hair that he’d realized smelled _really good_ —like cinnamon and spices. Kuroo had laughed at his lame jokes and argued with him and smiled at him like he was the only person who mattered.

       How many people had he ever connected with so easily? Hinata? They’d met when they were 3 and Hinata loudly declared they would be best friends from then on. Of course young kids click; there isn’t any internalized hatred for people who are different or intolerance for those who think outside the box. So who else had he gotten along with so quickly? The only other person who came to mind was Suga, and while Kenma had immediately liked the silver haired boy (and possibly developed a very strong friend-crush on him) it wasn’t the same.

       Kenma pet Hal a few times in a futile attempt to calm himself before quietly saying, “I think you’re pretty cute, Kuro.” Beside him Kuroo froze, and it took exactly three seconds for the words to fully register in the taller boy’s mind. Then suddenly he was lying on his side, Hal darting out of lap, with Kuroo’s cheek smushed against his. Warm, strong arms held him close and he blushed at how purely overjoyed Kuroo’s laugh sounded as it reverberated through his chest and into Kenma’s bones.

       “Stop being so damn cute,” Kuroo chuckled.

       “Excuse you,” Kenma mumbled into the couch cushion his face was pressed against. Despite being slightly uncomfortable, it wasn’t the proximity of Kuroo’s face, or how sudden the movement was that caused the discomfort which thoroughly surprised him. In fact, this felt oddly natural being with Kuroo like this. What was uncomfortable was the fabric pattern that was currently being pressed into his face.

       “Sorry Kitten,” Kuroo said though Kenma suspected he wasn’t really that sorry. It might have been because the smile in his voice was more than evident. However, it was most likely because Kuroo simply pulled away long enough for Kenma to situate himself better before snuggling up against his chest and yawning tiredly.

       “You seem tired.” Kenma observed, picking up his controller and pressing _CONTINUE_ , resting his arms around Kuroo’s shoulders.  

       “I didn’t get any sleep last night.” Kuroo murmured quietly into Kenma’s shirt.

       “Why?” Kenma asked, forcing himself to concentrate on his game rather than the way his heart rate steadily increased with every passing second.

       “I was editing the script for the pilot of _CD-Rom_.”

       “What?”

       “It’s this animated series we’ve been working on for a long time,” Kuroo explained, shrugging. “We’re supposed to record the first episode really soon so everyone’s freaking out. I’m scared it’ll be shit, to be honest.”

       “Hm…” Kenma wasn’t sure what to say. It wasn’t as if he was the kind of person to sugar-coat things and say ‘ _Oh I’m sure it’ll be good!_ ’ because how as he supposed to know? But he really wanted to reassure Kuroo that everything was okay. What was he becoming?

       “If it is shit,” he yawned again. “I won’t be surprised. But, I mean… Maybe…” and Kuroo’s voice faded away as his breath started to even out.

       “Kuro?” Kenma asked, eyes flickering between the screen and the boy resting in his lap. Kenma felt his breath catch as he watched Kuroo carefully; with his face devoid of his usual cocky smirk, he looked so innocent and sweet. It suited him, Kenma thought.

       “Great,” Kenma muttered. “Now what…” Waking Kuroo was not an option—no, he liked Kuroo too much for that. He supposed he could just continue playing, but with Kuroo’s soothing presence, he started to feel tired as well. He weighed the pros and cons of simply curling up and taking a nap and found he really couldn’t come up with any cons at all.

       So with that, he turned off his television, pulled Zelda off of the top of the couch where he knew she’d fall, and sighed, lying back and burying his face in Kuroo’s hair. Right before he closed his eyes, he found himself thinking, _Wow… this is something I could get used to_.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ah! Sorry this chapter was kinda short, but I DID post two of them, so hopefully that's okay. 
> 
> SIDE NOTE: There are so many Rooster Teeth references in this fic holy shit. IDK if I made a note of this already, but entire idea of the story mainly came from the [Let's Play - Destiny: King's Fall Raid](https://youtu.be/k0R2-gt0iFM?list=PLR8-ECqYujjoLYdbqPE2Bls0hewWwe8Xb)!


	8. Danger! Danger!

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Kenma hadn’t really wanted to come, but after Hinata ever-so-subtly suggested they could invite some of the HQ Games gang, he felt a little more implied to tag along. Actually, Hinata had invited Kuroo, Lev, Yaku, Akaashi, and Bokuto and then said that if he didn’t come, they’d all be sad. So he didn’t necessarily have a choice.
> 
> [WARNING: BRIEF SEXUAL ASSAULT]

       “So let me get this straight,” Suga says, holding up a hand. “Last week you let this Kuroo guy drive you home and then fell asleep cuddling with him, the next day you guys played Overwatch for nearly eight hours, two days later you went to lunch, the next day you went to dinner and a movie, and then yesterday you fell asleep with him again… and you _still_ haven’t gotten his phone number?!”

       “I mean…” Kenma refused to meet his eyes. “Maybe? I don’t know…” Even from under the dim lights of the club they were sitting in, he could see the disappointment and disbelief in his friend’s eyes. Next to him, he could hear Hinata snort a laugh as he sipped his gin and tonic. The three were sitting at a private table in the back of a popular nightclub waiting for the rest of the DangerDanger members to arrive. It was a celebration party for a series of music videos they’d shot almost a year ago and Hinata had begged Kenma to come with.

       In fact, Kenma was so badly wanted at the party that Fukuro Entertainment—the company that signed DangerDanger—told Kenma that he could bring whoever he wanted. Kenma didn’t actually understand _why_ they wanted him to be there so badly, even if the video ideas were his in the first place. Ukai, the owner of Fukuro, had even offered to pay Kenma for the ideas, but the boy had refused stating that they were simply ideas and he really didn’t care who used them.

       Kenma hadn’t really wanted to come, but after Hinata ever-so-subtly suggested they could invite some of the HQ Games gang, he felt a little more implied to tag along. Actually, Hinata had invited Kuroo, Lev, Yaku, Akaashi, and Bokuto and then said that if he didn’t come, they’d all be sad. So he didn’t necessarily have a choice.

       “Kenma, I cannot believe you.” Suga rolled his eyes, downing the rest of his Sake in a huff.

       “Please, Suga…” a man walked over, handed another garnished drink to the distraught boy, and took the empty glass. “We’ve talked about your stress drinking.”

       “You make me sound like an alcoholic, Daichi.” Suga pouted, pointedly sipping at his drink before setting it down. “Besides, you have no idea what I’m going through. Did you hear what Kenma did?”

       “Yes, I did.” Daichi says with an amused smile as he leaned over the back of Suga’s chair and kissed the top of his head before walking away.

       “And you talk to _me_ about going too slow.” Kenma deadpanned. Suga blushed but didn’t retort to which Hinata laughed again only to receive an elbow to the ribs. They all knew Kenma was right; Suga and Daichi had been dancing around their feelings for one another for the past four years and it was starting to become _slightly_ annoying.

       “Who’s going too slow?”

       “Oikawa!” Hinata jumped out of his seat and excitedly hugged him. Oikawa let out a loud ‘ _oof’_ but laughed and smiled, hugging Hinata back before limping over to his seat and slumping down in a huff. After being released from the hospital, he was warned to be very careful with his knee and had been laying off dancing, but refused to stay home during band events.

       “Suga and Daichi,” Kenma murmurs, taking a swig of his water.

       “Oh obviously,” Oikawa says, flicking his hair out of his face and flagging down a waitress who hurries over with a bright blush on her face. Kenma was always amazed at the way he could turn almost anyone into a bumbling, blushing mess with that award-winning, overly-rehearsed smile of his. Of course there were many people who were immune to it by now, but anyone who hadn’t met Oikawa, or wasn’t in a serious long-term relationship, would usually fall victim to the boy’s easy charms. It was like watching a magic show, Kenma thought.

       “Oikawa, I need your opinion on something,” Suga asked after the waitress had left. Oikawa simply hummed his acknowledgement and let his friend continue. “What if I told you that Kenma met someone?”

       “You _what?!_ ” Oikawa asked incredulously, whipping around to stare at Kenma with wide eyes. Kenma simply shrugged and looked away, suddenly very focused on the dripping condensation of his water glass.

       “Yes,” Suga mused. “Apparently this someone is dangerously pretty—”

       “Tobio’s words,” Hinata interjected.

       “—and Kenma hasn’t gotten his number yet.”

       “ _No!_ ” Oikawa’s jaw dropped, gaze moving between Kenma and Suga.

       “ _Yes!_ ” Suga says before he takes a large gulp of his drink. Then the silver-haired boy launches into a thorough recount of Kenma’s interactions with a certain dark haired boy with a passion for cats and video games. By the end of it, Kenma was blushing furiously and Oikawa was howling with laughter.

       “First of all,” he started when he finally calmed down, “there’s no need to get someone’s number if you already spend every fucking day with them,” he winked at Kenma. “And secondly… You should have jumped on that!”

       “O-Oikawa please,” Kenma says with a frown. “We’re in public.”

       “Yes we are,” Oikawa confirms, waggling his eyebrows before his eyes light up with realization. “Oh! Didn’t you say he’s coming here tonight?”

       “Yeah…” He mutters. This is going to be an interesting night, Kenma can already feel it.

       “So when is your Romeo supposed to appear?” Oikawa asks, taking his drink from the waitress and giving the girl a grateful smile. Then he looks at Kenma expectantly.

       “I don’t know,” Kenma tells him after a second.

       “Soon,” Hinata interjects excitedly. “Kuroo is bringing his friends too!”

       “Ooo, interesting. Anyone cute?” Of course Oikawa would want to know.

       “They’re _all_ cute,” Hinata informs him.

       “They’re all _taken_ ,” Kenma clarifies. Oikawa pouts but doesn’t say anything. In an attempt to change the subject, Kenma asks, “When is Dooms Day coming?” Surprisingly, Kenma was not talking about the end of the world but of the DangerDanger subunit that had not arrived yet; Terushima, Hisashi, and Makki. They were a hip-hop group of bad-asses and troublemakers, and really lived up to that image, especially in situations like this. They had a certain knack for arriving late almost everywhere, but with the help of their PR’s Asahi, Ushijima, and Matsukawa, they usually managed well enough to not ruin _everything_.

       All six members has Private Representatives who essentially babysat them and made sure they were taking care of themselves. For the most part the relationships between each idol and their PR were positive! In some cases, they were _very_ positive—such as with Hinata and Kageyama, and Suga and Daichi.

       However, there often occurred some discrepancies when it came to things such as ‘ _No, Terushima you cannot climb that statue_.’ or something like ‘ _Makki, nobody is betting you to drink that entire bottle of hot sauce, please put it down_ …’ or even things like ‘ _Hisashi we’re going to be late again, no you cannot go back to sleep_.’ There was an added bit of awkwardness between Oikawa and Hisashi’s PR Ushijima considering that they were once an item a quite some time ago, but they’d long since moved past that. Overall, everyone got along just fine.

       “Asa-chan said Teru-chan was taking a while in the shower, but they’ll be here soon,” Oikawa said as if he were repeating a line he’d memorized. For all they knew, it was. Typically asking Oikawa a question like that yielded nothing but a shrug and a smile. “I wanna know more about your boyfriend, Kenken!”

       Kenma’s eyes flashed dangerously and it had nothing to do with the boyfriend part. Oikawa just giggled and waited for him to talk. It was a little pointless because he knew Kenma was going to keep his mouth shut regardless of what he called Kuroo.

       “Fine,” Oikawa said, turning to look at Hinata. “Tell me about Sassy Kenken’s boyfriend.” Kenma punched Oikawa in the ribs and smirked into his water glass at the loud whine of pain the taller boy let out. “So rude!”

       “Kuroo-san is so awesome! His hair is all like _bwah_ and his smile is really cute.” Hinata considered this for a second before continuing, “They’re all so cute. I love Tobio, you guys know that—”

       “Obviously,” the three replied.

       “—but the HQ guys are pretty hot hot. Bokuto’s really muscular and his boyfriend Akaashi is, like. The prettiest boy I’ve ever seen. And Yaku is so cute! And Lev… whoa. What a tall glass of water.” Hinata fanned himself dramatically.

       “I definitely look forward to this,” Oikawa chuckled after finishing off his Mango Daiquiri. He held the empty glass in the air, shaking it slightly to signal to someone that he wanted another. “I have one question though. The _prettiest_ boy you’ve ever seen? I’m wounded, Chibi-chan.”

       “You don’t get it,” Kenma murmured. “Slim figure, perfect skin, long eyelashes, delicate features, hair like silk… he could be one of you.” Kenma meant that Akaashi could be an idol.  That’s how good looking he was.

       “Wow,” Oikawa said, staring at Kenma. They all were. Kenma never really showed interest in anyone’s looks before or had even really told Oikawa that someone was model level attractive. “Sounds like you’re more interested in him than this Kuroo guy.”

       Kenma just rolled his eyes; of course Akaashi was beautiful. Anyone with eyes could tell you that. For him it wasn’t just about looks. The personality that fit best with Kenma, the one he found most attractive, was _not_ Akaashi Keiji. It wasn’t someone quiet and reserved. It wasn’t someone soft-spoken. It was someone loud and dorky and out there with the grossest donkey laugh Kenma has ever heard, and it’s so beautiful it almost physically pains him.

       There was no way he was getting through the night sober, and even though Kenma didn’t really drink, he suddenly felt like three shots of Tequila might suit him really well right now. Oikawa, Hinata, and Suga were one thing… but soon the fucking riot squad was going to show up and the HQ guys were going to be there and wow, he really needed a drink.

       “I’m going to the bar,” Kenma mutters, standing up and turning away immediately. Club _Sun Down_ was popular among the idol scene, and even though the VIP room was almost impossible to get in without knowing the right people, the rest of the club was always open to the general public. Even on nights like tonight. It was a nice place without too much noise or loud music. But as Kenma made his way towards the bar, huffing in annoyance every time someone bumped into him, he was starting to feel a little claustrophobic. There might have been a lack of preparation on his part. This plan was quickly going down the drain.

       Kenma pushed to the front of the bar and sat down, rubbing his hands over his face, trying to calm his breathing. God he wished Kuroo was here right now. For some reason, whenever he was with Kuroo, everyone seemed to fade a little and they weren’t as overbearing. They weren’t as anxiety inducing. They didn’t seem as scary.

 _Get a fucking grip_ , he thought harshly.

       Kenma flagged down the bartender and ordered his much-needed shots before sitting down and waiting patiently. Just then, a man who had been watching him from a few seats down slid up beside him and put his hand on the small of Kenma’s back. The shorter boy froze, turning to look at who was touching him, and he felt like he wanted to throw up. Some sleazy guy with yellow teeth and a nose that was entirely too big for his face was looking at him with an expression that made him want to take fifteen showers.

       “Can I help you?” Kenma asked flatly, trying to back away. The grip on his waist just tightened.

       “Hm, I’m sure you can. I’m Gakei,” the guy replied. Kenma gagged a little; this guy’s breath smelled like death. _Doesn’t he know how to brush his fucking teeth?_

       “Take your hand off of my waist.” Kenma tried to sound brave, but the truth is that he was spiraling. Very soon he was going to be silent and dazed with no chance of resisting anything.

       “Oh come on, don’t be like that.” Gakei, sliding his arm further around Kenma’s waist. “Why don’t we have some fun?” He pushed his hips against Kenma’s thigh and Kenma’s panic increased tenfold—this sick pervert was actually aroused.

       “I can’t, I have a boyfriend.” Why the fuck did he say that? Why the actual fuck did he just say that? Why could he have just said that he didn’t want to? Why lie about something so stupid?! He couldn’t explain it. He was panicking.

       “Well I don’t see any boyfriend around here,” Gakei said, leaning closer. A looming figure appeared behind him and tapped on his shoulder, but Kenma couldn’t even make himself look to see who it was, afraid that taking his eyes off of Gakei would result in something horrible.

       “Excuse you. Why the fuck are you harassing my friend?” Kenma swears he wanted to sob in relief at the familiarity of the voice. Never in his life had he ever been as grateful to anyone as he was to Kuroo at this moment. For a second, Kenma allowed himself to look over Gakei’s shoulder and…

 _Yikes™_ , Kenma thought. The pure rage in Kuroo’s eyes was terrifying even to him.

       “Hey I’m trying to have a conversation here,” Gakei said, barely sparing Kuroo a glance which just enraged Kuroo even further.

       “If you don’t leave now, I’ll deck your ass into next week.” Kuroo’s voice was low and deadly. That seemed to get Gakei’s attention; he turned around, ready to mouth off to whoever was interrupting him, and froze.

       Kuroo towered over him by at least six inches, and even though Kenma had never noticed it before… Kuroo had a scary face. Or at least, he possessed the ability to make his face _incredibly_ intimidating. But Gakei was too drunk to listen to the voice of reason in his head that screamed for him to just walk away.

       “L-Listen pal, you ha—”

       “Is someone bothering Kenma?” Lev appeared beside Kuroo, sporting a downright vicious expression. Now, Kuroo was tall, but Lev? Well, the half-Russian was an absolute beast, and the chances of even _attempting_ to fight Lev resulted on a 0% success rate.

       “I-I… uh.” The guy quickly removed his hand from Kenma’s back and looked between Lev and Kuroo with wide eyes. “N-No problem here. I wa—”

       “Kenma! There you are!” _Jesus_. _Christ_. The only way this situation could become more of a clusterfuck was if Oikawa Tooru and his tall beautiful self and completely perfected crazy eyes walked up at this moment. And that’s exactly what happened. Kenma almost wanted to laugh at the situation. This was fucking insane. Could this possibly be any more insane?!

       “Oikawa, is there a problem?” Yes. That’s a definite yes. This could absolutely be more insane. Following closely behind Oikawa were two PR’s, Aone Takanobu and Ushijima Wakatoshi, both terrifying and intimidating in their own ways. Since Kenma knew them all, he was perfectly aware that they were all just cute, socially awkward puppies, but to outsiders it may seem like you were about to be jumped by a gang of men belonging to a Giant’s Clan.

       “Yes there appears to be a _big_ problem,” Oikawa gave the stranger a sickeningly sweet fake smile before hooking his thumb over his shoulder. “My friends are going to make sure you are sent home nice and safe, alright?” So in other words, Oikawa himself was going to walk this man outside and punch him before telling security to make sure he was never let inside ever again.

       “I-I can. Um. I can get home by m-myself,” Gakei stammered nervously.

       “Oh, but you seem to be so bad with determining where you are and aren’t allowed to go,” Kuroo interjected, staring at the arm that had previously been around Kenma’s waist. “We wouldn’t want you to get confused, now would we?”

       “Definitely not,” Lev agreed.

       “Nobu-chan, if you would be a dear.” Oikawa stepped aside to let the white-haired man step closer. Seconds later, Aone had a death grip on the stranger’s shoulder and was pushing him through the crowd towards the door with Ushijima and Oikawa in tow. Before leaving, Oikawa threw Kenma a look to check if he was okay, and judging by the way the shorter boy sighed in relief, it was obvious he was in good hands.

       “Are you okay, Kitten?” Kuroo asked softly, gently putting his arm around Kenma’s shoulders. Kenma didn’t say anything, but instead reached over to the three shots that were waiting for him on the counter and downed them one after the other. _Definitely not okay_. “C’mon let’s go meet your friends, yeah? Far away from here.” Kenma nodded slowly and took Kuroo’s hand leading him and Lev to the VIP section. Lev motioned for Bokuto, Akaashi, and Yaku to follow them.

       The men guarding the VIP section looked at the newcomers suspiciously and then to Kenma to make sure they were alright. Kenma just nodded and kept walking. It was much less crowded back in this part of the club, and as they neared the large table that was already crowded with five members of DangerDanger and the PR’s who stood close by, Kenma started to feel a bit better. There were no strangers here. No sleazy perverts pressing their junk against him or touching his back like they were close friends. None of that; just those who were actually close friends.

       “Hinata!” Bokuto’s loud voice brought Kenma back to awareness as the owl-eyed man bounded over to the group.

       “Bokuto!” Hinata cried, throwing his arms up in excitement. The boys all sat down, smiling and laughing; completely unaware of what had transpired moments ago… Kenma envied them. He was silent as he sat down and pulled Kuroo into the booth alongside him, very aware of the fact that he was being affectionate and needy, attempting to express through actions what his words would not allow. What had just happened was going to stay with him for a while, and having Kuroo around made him feel so safe and cared for. It didn’t matter what anyone did or said; as long as Kuroo was there, he was absolutely fine.

       “Guys, this is Bokuto,” Hinata animatedly introduced Suga to Bokuto, Akaashi, and Yaku. At the other end of the table, Terushima was gaping at Lev who just smiled.

       “You’re so fucking tall!” Terushima exclaimed. “Makki! Hisashi! Get a load of this one! And you’re dating _him?!_ ” Terushima pointed at Yaku who looked at him cautiously.

       “Talk about Jack and the fucking Beanstalk, am I right?” Hisashi cackled. Makki slapped the table, laughing way too much at a joke that was not that funny. Kenma could see Yaku growing irritated at the mention of his height—Kuroo had explained to him that the last thing you wanted to do was mention Yaku’s height. It might literally be the last thing you do.

       “Careful,” Lev told them, patting Yaku on the head. “Yaku-san is sensitive about his height.”

       “I can still kick your ass, you half-Russian flag pole!” To prove his point, Yaku landed a solid punch to Lev’s chest causing the taller boy to sputter and cough.

       “I like this guy,” Terushima laughed, gesturing to Yaku who blushed slightly and smiled.

       “Hey, where’s Oikawa?” Suga asked Kenma who just picked up the water glass he’d left earlier and sipped at it, refusing to meet his eyes. Kuroo’s arm tightened around his shoulders, pulling him a little bit closer.

       “What happened?” Suga’s asked, eyes moving between Kuroo and Kenma who could hear the Mom Tone coming out just a little.

       “Yeah, why did you guys disappear when we got here?” Bokuto chimed in, sliding towards to Akaashi.

       “You came back looking rather upset,” Akaashi pointed out, shifting to allow Bokuto to get closer. Kenma just shrugged, still unable to look at anyone.

       “Can I?” Kuroo quietly asked him. He wanted to say no, but he knew they would be worrying all night long if he didn’t tell them _something_ , especially Hinata and Suga. So he allowed Kuroo to recount the tale, unable to trust that his voice wouldn’t crack or his eyes wouldn’t tear. “Some really fucking disgusting dude was harassing Kenma.”

       “ _What?!_ ” Hinata and Suga nearly shrieked. The conversation on the other side of the table halted. Everyone at the table was interested in whatever was going on now.

       “What happened?” Makki asked, slinging his arm around Hisashi and inclining his head towards Hinata.

       “What did he do? Did he touch you? What did he say?” Great. Suga was Moming out all over the place, and even though it made Kenma feel cared for, it was just too much right now. There’s no way he could tell them all what exactly happened. God, he wanted to vomit just thinking about it.

       “Wait, wait, wait!” Yaku held up his hand, “Someone was harassing Kenma?” Fucking perfect, now Yaku was starting to mother him. Kuroo had recently assured Kenma that Yaku was essentially the same exact person as Suga in that sense.

       “Who.” Terushima said flatly. “I will fucking kill anyone who messes with Kenma.” Terushima wasn’t one to Mom but he was definitely one to Older Brother every fucking second of his life. Not only that, but Kenma was completely sure that under the right circumstances, Terushima would absolutely murder a man.

       “I think Oikawa already took care of that.” Kuroo told them stonily.

       “RIP in fucking pieces, asshole.” Hisashi said angrily.

       “I hope they kicked him out. If not, I will fight,” Yaku said.

       “No need.” Makki shook his head. “Oikawa once sent a guy to the hospital for groping Suga a few years ago.” Hisashi shuddered at the memory.

       “Are you fucking serious?” Bokuto asked in astonishment.

       “That guy ended up in the hospital?” Suga seemed horrified by the information.

       “You didn’t know?” Hinata asked, eyebrows drawing together.

       “I didn’t know anything that happened!” Suga exclaimed. “I was busy…”

       “Busy restraining Daichi.” Makki sounded too amused.

       “That guy legitimately almost lost his life that night,” Hinata added.

       “I would have let Daichi at him.” Hisashi told them.

       “I wish you would have,” Daichi appeared behind Suga and gave him another drink, taking the empty glass. “I still get pissed off when I think about it.”

       “I know, darling.” Suga tells him, patting his hand affectionately. Oikawa returned to the table, looking tired and pained and if Kenma weren’t spiraling into a dark place right now, he would have scolded Oikawa for pushing himself so hard.

        “Are you okay, Kenma?” He asked once he sat down. Oikawa may act like a ditz sometimes, or seem like an air-headed idol who’s too entitled to care about anyone else, but he has _always_ been there for Kenma, and that has never been more apparent than at that moment.

       Kenma thought about it; was he okay? Well, he was feeling pretty safe at that moment. He looked up at Kuroo who gave him a quizzical look before smiling shyly. Kenma blushed slightly and turned to look at Oikawa.

       “I’m okay,” he said softly.

       “I can see that,” Oikawa gave him a knowing look. “Doesn’t Kenken look so cute with Mr. Tall Dark and Handsome?” Beside him, Kenma could hear Kuroo giggling, but immediately went quiet the second Kenma reeled back and punched Oikawa in the stomach causing the idol to double over in pain, clutching his stomach.

       “So rude!” Oikawa managed to say.

       “Holy shit,” Kuroo whispered in awe. Having caught sight of what Kenma did, Makki, Terushima, and Hisashi burst out into laughter, sounding like the three Hyenas from the Lion King (this is not the first time Kenma has made that comparison).

       “Suga, why do you let him hurt me?” Oikawa whined to the silver-haired boy who had just finished his third glass of Soju. Daichi walked over with a glass of water and muttered something about slowing down before taking yet another empty glass and walking away.

       “We’ve all told you to stop with the stupid nicknames,” Suga shrugged, looking at his glass of water like it physically repulsed him. “I want booze, damnit!”

       “Remember that thing Daichi said about stress drinking?” Hinata snickered into his gin and tonic—yes the same one from before.

       “I drink to forget,” Suga said, shooting Daichi a glare from across the room. Kenma laughed slightly. It felt good to get his mind off of things. He loved that his friends never treated him with kid gloves or tiptoed around his anxiety. They knew doing that would only make it worse, and so Oikawa had to take one for the team and keep things lighthearted.

       “That punch was just for the nickname?” Kuroo quietly asked Kenma, sounding far too amused for his own good. Kenma just shrugged.

       “Why punch him for something he’s right about, Mr. Tall Dark and Handsome?” He replied with a smirk. He didn’t have to look to know Kuroo was blushing like a damn fool. Kenma was being snarky and Kuroo absolutely loved it.

       “God you’re amazing,” Kuroo murmured in adoration, thinking Kenma wouldn’t hear him over Oikawa’s whining or Bokuto’s loud ramblings or Terushima’s laughter… but he was wrong, because Kenma heard everything. So there Kenma was, feeling something so warm and pure bloom in his chest, and even though it was new and a little terrifying, it made him feel complete.

 _If I’m amazing, you must be a god_.

[~~~***~~~]

       “So you really had no idea who Hinata was?” Suga laughed.

       “Nope,” Kuroo drawled lazily into Kenma’s hair. It was well into the night and even though Kuroo seemed sober, he was anything but. Bokuto had challenged Kuroo to a drinking contest which Terushima, Makki, and Oikawa demanded in on. Suga and Yaku had wanted to join in but their respective significant others had pointed out how unfair it would be for them to participate seeing as how they can both handle their liquor as if it ran through their veins. So after three hours and fifteen shots of Vodka, their group had dwindled significantly. Lev and Yaku departed shortly after Lev went abnormally quiet and Yaku demanded they go home. Dooms Day left immediately following Makki passing out in a potted plant in the corner, Oikawa was forced to go home after he complained that his knee was hurting, and Akaashi had tiredly muttered something to Bokuto before catching a cab to his apartment.

       Daichi and Kageyama had sat at a nearby table, waiting and watching nervously as Suga and Hinata downed drink after drink. That was, until Hinata stumbled over to Kageyama with a weird look on his face and whispered something that turned the brunette an alarming shade of red and they left.

       And so Suga, Daichi, Bokuto, Kuroo, and Kenma remained. At first, Kenma was worried as to what kind of person Drunk Kuroo would be, but he was pleasantly surprised to find out that the already affectionate and adoring boy only increased this behaviour tenfold. Not only that, but it seems that his brain-to-mouth filter had dissolved into nothing. Currently he was nuzzling Kenma’s head, playing with his hair, and occasionally whispering words that were too sweet for Kenma’s little heart to handle.  

       Bokuto rolled his eyes, “And you call yourself a K-Pop fan.”

       Kuroo shrugged and lowered his hand to rub Kenma’s back soothingly, “I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again. I’m not a crazy fangirl, alright? I learn a few things about my bias and drop it. Besides, I was… distracted.” Kenma hummed in content; he was feeling so light and happy. Now that he had forgotten about what had happened earlier, he was actually enjoying himself. Obviously that was because of Kuroo, but he was still having a good time.

       “And who is your bias?” Daichi asked.

       “Didn’t you say it was Suga?” Bokuto snickered. The silver-haired boy (who had been looking rather tired) perked up, grinning at Kuroo with shining eyes; it wasn’t necessarily _rare_ for Suga to meet someone who said he was their bias, but for the most part, everyone seemed to pick someone else for a different reason. People loved Oikawa because he was charming, they loved Hinata because he was the youngest, they loved Terushima because he was wild, they loved Makki because he was an amazing dancer, and they loved Hisashi because he was the odd one out. Of course Suga was lovable; he was a sweet yet utterly sassy motherly figure and the leader of the group. However, he always seemed to get the short end of the stick. People figure, ‘ _Oh, everybody loves Suga! I should show someone else some love._ ’ Turns out a lot of people thought that way.

       “Uh, obviously Suga’s my bias!” Kuroo exclaimed, eyebrows drawing together. “He’s awesome.”

       “Oh!” Suga squealed.

       “Oh no,” Daichi groaned.

       “Ooooooh!” Suga started bouncing up and down. Before anyone could say anything else, he had leaned over and hugged Kuroo tightly. Bokuto gaped, Daichi laughed slightly, and Kenma gave Kuroo an amused grin. “I love you too, my child.” He pulled back and patted a bewildered Kuroo on the head.

       “I wanna be your child!” Bokuto said in shock and awe. He held his arms out and made grabbing motions, “Hug me, Suga!” Suga complied with a very adorable cooing noise.

       “Of course, Bokuto. I can never have too many children,” Suga pulled away and gave him a blinding smile. Bokuto giggled and pulled out his phone, presumably to tell Akaashi what had just happened.

       “Suga, you can absolutely have too many children,” Daichi sighed. “We’ve talked about this.”

       “First of all.” Suga pointed at him. “I am going to adopt _all_ of the fans. Secondly, you’re one to fucking talk, Dadchi.”

       “Don’t bring up the dogs,” Daichi said, putting his hands over his face.

       Kuroo leaned down and nuzzled Kenma’s neck slightly before quietly asking, “Are they always like this?” Kenma tried but failed to suppress the shiver that Kuroo’s breath against his skin caused.

       “For the most part,” Kenma said, rolling his eyes. “Watch this.” He looked at the arguing couple and pouted. “I hate it when mom and dad fight.” Suga and Daichi go silent, and look at him, stammering and blushing. Whenever anyone referred to them as a couple they both completely lost it, acting as if they had no idea what anyone was talking about.

       Kuroo smiled at this and told Kenma, “You’re so fucking cute. I can’t even handle myself.”

       Now it was Kenma’s turn to blush, “Sh-shut up, you’re drunk.”

       “Nah,” Kuroo waved his hand. As if to prove his point, he picked up his water and downed it in one go.

       “Oh man,” Bokuto said, hanging up his phone. “Akaashi is sober. I gotta go.”

       “Gross,” Kuroo said with a grin. Bokuto smiled nonetheless and stood up to leave. “Be safe, bro.”

       “Bro,” Bokuto stopped and put his hand over his heart, wiping an imaginary tear away. “I’m glad you always have my back, bro. See you later, mom!” And with that, the whirlwind known as Bokuto was gone.

       Kenma yawned and Kuroo frowned, “Do you wanna go home?”

       “It _is_ getting pretty late,” Suga said, looking down at his watch.

       “Yeah, I’m really tired but…” Kenma’s voice trailed off.

       “But you don’t wanna walk in on Shou and Tobio again?” Suga guessed with a knowing smile. Kenma just shuddered in reply; never again. He was scarred for a week.

       “You could just stay over again,” Kuroo said without thinking. Suga looked at Kenma in surprise and Kenma blushed, avoiding his gaze. “I mean… uh. If that’s okay with you.”

       “S-sure.” Kenma stuttered, shaking his hair in his eyes and grabbing Kuroo’s hand. “That’s okay.” Kuroo nodded and slid out of the booth, pulling Kenma with him. They both ignored the way Suga sputtered at Daichi, saying something about how cute they were, and started to make their way toward the door—Kuroo insisted on shielding Kenma from anyone who got too close, no matter who they were or why they were around.

       Outside, Suga adamantly refused to leave without hugging Kuroo and Kenma or without Daichi promising Suga that they could get food on the way home. Kenma waved at the pair as they got into a car that was way too nice (in Kenma’s opinion) and drove away. Kuroo lightly tugged on Kenma’s hand and lead the way to his car that was parked a block away.

       When they reached the car, Kuroo pulled out his keys but hesitated.

       “What’s wrong?” Kenma asked, squeezing his hand.

       “I don’t want to drive,” Kuroo told him. “I don’t think I’m sober enough.”

       “You seem sober enough to me,” Kenma pointed out, shrugging slightly. It was true, Kuroo wasn’t slurring his words or stumbling over his own feet. He didn’t smell of alcohol, and he didn’t _feel_ tipsy… but he cared too much about Kenma’s safety to even risk it.

       “Yeah,” Kuroo said slowly. Kenma felt bad; he didn’t want to make Kuroo feel weird. If he was uncomfortable, he shouldn’t have to justify why. Kenma had felt so uncomfortable almost all night and Kuroo made him feel better without question.

       “Sorry.” Kenma said, looking at his feet.

       “No! It’s okay.” Kuroo hugged him and kissed the top of his head. “I just…” Kenma knew what he was trying to say. “Do you… I mean. Never mind.”

       “What, Kuro?” Kenma pulled away, looking up at him.

       “I was gonna say.” Kuroo’s face scrunched up, “Like. If you would be okay driving…” Kenma’s eyes widened. Did Kuroo really trust him that much? It wasn’t like it was some crappy second-hand car. This was a _nice_ car and they were at least a twenty minute drive from their apartment building. Kenma was a good driver, he just never had to between Kageyama, Oikawa, and Kuroo.

       “Really? You trust me that much?” Kenma felt his stomach do a flip at the smile Kuroo gave him. Complete trust.

       “Of course,” Kuroo breathed, flashing that crooked smile that makes Kenma’s heart skip a beat. He held out his keys and Kenma stared at them for a second before grinning at Kuroo and taking them. He walked around the car and unlocked it before sliding in the driver’s seat. Kuroo slumped into the passenger’s seat and watched as Kenma adjusted the seat and mirrors.

       It was amazing, really. The way Kuroo’s heart swelled, just thinking about how cute and small Kenma was considering the way the smaller boy had to slide the seat all the way up to the steering wheel. Kuroo ignored his slightly-more-intoxicated-than-originally-thought brain as the idea to say, “ _I fucking love you._ ” came to light and caused his face to turn bright red.

       The ride home was blanketed by a comfortable silence. Kenma parked in Kuroo’s usual spot, and they made the short two-minute trek up to Kuroo’s apartment. For a second, Kenma considered stopping home to grab his PSP, but he _really_ didn’t want to chance an eyeful of unspeakable things being done to his best friend… again.

       Kenma had been to Kuroo’s apartment before, and when he stepped inside, he blindly made his way to Kuroo’s room and fell down on the bed, not even bothering to take off his shoes. He rolled to one side to make room for Kuroo who followed suit and collapsed on the bed in exhaustion. Kenma absentmindedly pulled Kuroo closer and buried his face in Kuroo’s chest.

       Kuroo looked down at Kenma in surprise but the other boy was just sleeping. This time, Kuroo couldn’t stop himself.

       “I fucking love you,” Kuroo whispered as he closed his eyes and drifted into unconsciousness.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter was so bAD IM DYING IM SORRY. I feel like this was so rushed and wordy and I'm ashamed I'm gonna go cry now. Also, I was really torn between having Kuroo punch that guy immediately and the scenario I wrote OML.


	9. DAY 5

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> DAY 4 | “Guys, I don’t get it.” Bokuto’s face was serious. It didn’t fit him.  
> DAY 2 | Akaashi kind of felt out of place. It wasn’t really his job to give Kuroo advice; that’s not the role that Akaashi played in his life.  
> DAY 5 | I’m not ready for this, Kuroo thought in a panic.

**DAY 4**

       Four days later, Kuroo was acting… weird. He was slacking at work, extremely skittish, alarmingly evasive, and uncharacteristically cautious. The boy was normally loud, sarcastic, a general goofball! So what was wrong? Kenma just wasn’t sure. If he had a nickel for every time he asked ‘ _What’s wrong?_ ’ only to get the answer ‘ _I’m fine._ ’ he would be filthy, stinking rich. It got so bad that Kenma couldn’t even be comfortable around him anymore. Any time they hung out, he’d have to fight the urge to grab the taller boy by the shoulders and shake him, yelling ‘ _Snap out of it!_ ’ Everything about this was weird, and Kenma didn’t know what to do. It was so backwards. Kuroo was supposed to be the sane one; he was supposed to be the stable one…

       Thinking of it that way was wrong and Kenma hated himself for even going there, but he couldn’t help it! Even Bokuto and Yaku noticed that something seriously wrong was going on.

       “Guys, I don’t get it.” Bokuto’s face was serious. It didn’t fit him. “He’s my best friend and he hasn’t said _anything_. I’ll ask him what’s up and he’ll say he’s fine. I’ll reassure him that he can talk to me about anything and he’ll just say _I know_ and go on like nothing’s wrong.” He was curled up on Kenma’s couch, looking forlorn and lost. Akaashi sat beside him, looking conflicted. Yaku and Kenma were on the floor in front of them, up to their arms in cats.

       “Well what are we supposed to do about it?” Yaku asked, carefully petting Link. “When Kuroo is ready to talk, he’ll talk.” It seemed fair enough. Kuroo was a big boy, and he could handle himself. Still, it was worrisome. In all their years of knowing him Yaku, Akaashi, and Bokuto had never seen him act this way.

       “I mean, I guess,” Bokuto conceded with a pout. Akaashi looked like he wanted to say something, but stayed quiet. The entire time they’d been discussing Kuroo’s behaviour, he hadn’t said a single word. Sure he was a generally quiet person, but Kenma didn’t buy it.

       “What do you think, Akaashi?” He asked quietly.

       Akaashi’s brows drew together, “Uh, I don’t know.” Bokuto slowly turned to look at his boyfriend, eyes narrowing in accusation. Akaashi wouldn’t meet his eyes.

       “You know something,” Bokuto stated.

       “I… have no idea what you’re talking about.” Akaashi straightened his shirt and crossed his arms firmly over his chest.

       “Oh my god,” Yaku’s jaw dropped. “You totally know something.”

       Bokuto looked thoroughly distraught. “Kuroo talked to _you_ and not _me?!_ ” Akaashi flinched at the volume of his words, not because they were loud, but because they were soft. Almost like he was asking himself instead of Akaashi what it was that he did wrong to make Kuroo keep something from him.

       “I’m sure he didn’t mean anything by it,” Yaku reassured him. Kenma felt utterly useless; he wanted to be able to say something helpful. Instead he was just sitting there, among a group of friends he didn’t really belong in, listening in on something he didn’t really deserve to. He couldn’t stay silent.

       “Bokuto-san…” Akaashi started gently. “Kuroo is going through a rough time. He’s confused about a lot of things.”

       “But—”

       “But nothing,” Kenma sighed. The three looked at him in confusion and surprise.

       “What do you mean?” Yaku asked after a moment. Kenma hesitated, looking between them, before addressing Bokuto.

       "Bokuto. Kuroo is your best friend, right?”

       “Yeah,” he nodded slowly.

       “And you guys talk about everything, right?”

       “Yeah.”

       “Have you ever gone to Yaku or Akaashi instead of Kuroo?”

       “Of course not!” Bokuto sounded indignant.

       “Never? Not even when you were confused and had no idea what to do?”

       “I’ve never gone to anyone but Kuroo.”

       “Really? I remember Kuroo telling me that when you first realized th—”

       “Fine, I went to Yaku that _one_ time.” Bokuto rolled his eyes like it was obvious. They all watched as it clicked into place in his mind; slowly his agitated expression melted into something more like pity. “Oh… that sucks for Kuroo. I feel bad now.”

       “I’m sure he would appreciate your sympathy,” Akaashi murmured, gently petting his boyfriend on the head. Bokuto just closed his eyes and hummed in contentment.

       “I don’t suppose you feel up to telling us what’s bothering him?” Yaku asked like he was simply asking the time of day. They looked at him incredulously. How much more of a mother could he be? Over-protective, stern, caring, and a desperate need to know what’s happening in his children’s lives.

       “Don’t look at me that way!” Yaku snapped. “I’m just asking the question you don’t want to.” That much was true. Both he and Kenma were dying to know what the actual fuck was going on.

       “Still,” Bokuto said.

       “Kuroo said he knew you would be worried,” Akaashi admitted. “He knows he won’t be able to work through everything alone, and he… he told me that if you guys wanted to know, I could tell you.” In lieu of a response, the three others leaned closer with expectant looks on their faces. Akaashi just sighed. “Basically, he’s really scared.”

       “Scared?” Kenma repeated quietly, frowning at the ground in front of him. The word felt familiar yet odd on his tongue.

       “Specifically scared of how he feels about _you_ , Kenma.” Kenma’s eyes widened and his heart picked up. Was Kuroo stressing out over _him_? How is it that he didn’t notice? He should have been paying more attention. Shit. Kenma had been so afraid that he’d messed up his chances with Kuroo and now it’s clear that he actually had. Maybe Kuroo was stressing out over a way to let him down easy. That seemed like the most likely scenario.

 _Fuck…_ he felt his eyes burn. There’s no way he would let himself cry in front of anyone but Suga, Hinata, or Oikawa. But this was _Kuroo_. How could he _not_ cry? A pair of arms wrapping around him brought him out of his thoughts; he didn’t realize he’d been staring off into space or that tears had started to roll down his cheeks.

       “Kenma,” Yaku’s voice was soft as he hugged Kenma tightly. “It’s okay… you don’t have to cry.” From the couch, Akaashi and Bokuto watched him carefully, not sure what to say. They had no idea why Kenma was crying. Yaku pulled away and just rubbed Kenma’s shoulder as the sniffling boy drew his knees up to his chest, fighting the urge to cry more.

       “If you want to, you can tell us what’s wrong,” Akaashi told him.

       “I don’t know,” he lied.

       “You don’t have to tell us, but if you do, at least tell us the truth,” Yaku said lightheartedly.

       “It just. It doesn’t make any sense,” Kenma forced himself to say.

       “That’s fine. Things don’t have to make sense for them to be real,” Bokuto said with a grin. Kenma marveled at them; this is not what he was expecting. They actually cared? They actually wanted Kenma to tell them what’s wrong? They actually think his feelings are valid?

       “Are you scared too?” Yaku asked. Kenma nodded. “Do you know why?”

       “I’ve never been in a relationship before,” his mouth blurted without his brain’s permission… and it all just came pouring out. “I’ve never even _wanted_ to be in a relationship before. People hated my personality. They hated that I didn’t want to talk a lot or that I didn’t say the right things or kiss them or that I got anxious about stupid stuff. Nobody understood, so I gave up on the idea of a relationship.

       “Then suddenly I meet someone who defies all of my expectations, someone who doesn’t mind silence, and understands what I meant to say. Someone who never pushed me to do anything I didn’t want to and never questioned why something made me uncomfortable. It’s like he just _knew_ , and I’m so fucking terrified because I don’t even know how this stuff is supposed to work. I don’t know how to repay him for what he’s done for me. All I know is that for the first time I actually want to be with someone and I feel like I’m just dead weight. I don’t want to mess up, but I feel like everything I do is a step in the wrong direction, and I’m just. I don’t want to want this so much, but I do anyways, and what’s even worse is that don’t care that I do! I’m so mad at myself because _I can’t give Kuroo anything_!”

       Kenma was practically sobbing by the time he was finished, and he feels like a fucking idiot. Why did he say so much? What the hell is wrong with him?! He must’ve looked so stupid. But what Kenma didn’t see was everyone else crying right alongside him. Hearing that someone they cared about, someone that _Kuroo_ cared about, thought so lowly of themselves broke their hearts. Kenma didn’t see what they saw; Kenma didn’t see the change in Kuroo since the day they met. He didn’t see how much _happier_ Kuroo was or how he stopped getting so angry with himself all the time.

       Bokuto and Yaku exchanged glances before diving to hug Kenma as tightly as possible. Kenma yelped slightly. At first he was taken aback by the sudden action, then relaxed into their embrace. But after a second he noticed they were crying and started to panic.

       “Oh my god! I’m so sorry! I didn’t mean to make you cry.”

       “No! Yaku said firmly, pulling back and holding Kenma’s face between his hands. “We care about you. You’re never done anything to make Kuroo upset. And there is _so much_ that you have to offer.”

       In Yaku’s absence, Bokuto squeezed Kenma tighter, nodding furiously. Then he let go and stared at Kenma with determination, “I know you can’t see it, but. Just.” He seemed frustrated with himself, as if he couldn’t find the right thing to say.

       “Kuroo is so much happier because of you,” Akaashi says suddenly. The crying trio looked at him in surprise. Akaashi slides off the couch and looks Kenma directly in the eyes. “He finds joy in the little things again. He smiles more, he laughs more… and it’s genuine. And when he’s stressing out, I know that just seeing your face makes everything okay again. So don’t you _ever_ think that this is a one-sided thing.” Kenma was stunned into silence; he had absolutely no idea that _anyone_ , especially someone like Kuroo, could feel that way about him. This was certainly something… but why exactly was Kuroo scared if it wasn’t because he hated Kenma?

       Akaashi practically read his mind, “Kuroo is worried that he will scare you away because of how much he likes you.” Kenma stared at him dumbly. Oh… what? That didn’t make sense in his mind. How could this be possible? _How?_

       “Don’t worry,” Yaku told him with a smile. “Just talk to him. Knowing what a big baby he is, he probably won’t say anything first.”

       Bokuto laughed, “Kuroo’s the biggest baby I know, and that’s saying something. He’s such a dork, but he’s my best bro. And I think you’re really good for him.” Akaashi and Yaku nodded in agreement. For some reason, Kenma felt a huge relief. It was almost like when your boyfriend’s parents say they approve of you.

       Yaku yawned and said, “I don’t know about you guys, but I get tired when I cry.”

       “Great,” Akaashi muttered as Bokuto groaned.

       “What is it?” Kenma asked.

       “When Yaku gets tired he wants to watch movies and cuddle,” he explained. “And since Lev is at his parents’ house, that responsibility now falls to us.”  Kenma huffed a laugh and Yaku pouted. Akaashi and Bokuto looked at each other and sighed.

       “Alright, I’ll make popcorn,” Bokuto said, getting off the floor and heading toward the kitchen despite the fact that he had no idea where he was going. Yaku gave a satisfied hum. Kenma couldn’t help but think about how lucky he was to have friends like this. If he had been home alone, there’s no telling what kind of psychosis he would fall into. Hinata was in Korea for the week, and with Kuroo’s emotions all over the place, he was glad for a bit of stability.

[~~~***~~~]

**DAY 2**

       Kuroo was sat on one of the couches in a back room at HQ Games. Not many people even knew this area existed since it was tucked away behind the Prop Room, but on days when things became too hard to handle, Kuroo found himself there on that couch. Today he wasn’t alone. Akaashi was sitting in a large chair opposite him, looking very confused.

       Typically when Kuroo wore this expression he sought out Bokuto to help remedy his issues, but this time he was very careful to make sure the hyperactive boy had no clue where they were.

       “Is something wrong?” Akaashi asked when Kuroo didn’t say anything.

       “I need your advice,” he said earnestly.

       “Oh. I can try, I guess.” Akaashi kind of felt out of place. It wasn’t really his job to give Kuroo advice; that’s not the role that Akaashi played in his life. This was supposed to be Bokuto’s area of expertise.

       Kuroo sighed and ran his hands through his hair, “I’ve been… off lately.” Akaashi didn’t want to point out that yeah, that was kind of obvious. So he just sat and waited for Kuroo to continue. “Uh. Before you and Bokuto started dating, you were apprehensive. Right?”

       “I was cautious,” Akaashi said slowly.

       “What did he do? To make you feel comfortable? Bokuto, I mean.”

       “I don’t really… I don’t remember.” He frowned at Kuroo, “What’s going on? I want to help you, I really do. But if I’m going to give you advice, I kin—”

       “Kenma’s never been in a relationship before.” It came out in a rush leaving Akaashi shocked. “He’s afraid. He’s afraid of everything and everyone, and Kenma is… he’s.”

       “Special?” Akaashi offered. Kuroo gave a quick nod and looked down at his hands folded in his lap.

       “I’m _so_ fucking scared. I don’t want to mess this up. I _can’t_ mess this up.” His voice broke and Akaashi felt the deepest sympathy for him; he knew how it felt to fall so hard so soon. It’s not something that someone just deals with easily or casually mentions over coffee. It’s something that you have to force way down deep inside for fear it will drive someone away. Sometimes you never get the chance to say how you feel because the person you thought you loved really broke your heart.

       What if Kenma broke his heart? Not out rejection but out of panic. Kuroo knew how sensitive the other boy was. He knew that even the slightest push in the wrong direction was like the end of the world. What would happen if Kuroo let himself slip and just say what he’s wanted to say since they first met? What would happen if Kuroo never said anything at all?

       What’s even worse is if Kuroo broke _Kenma’s_ heart. He wouldn’t be able to live with himself knowing that he hurt someone who meant so much to him and deserved nothing but love and attention.

       “I can’t tell you that you won’t make mistakes,” Akaashi’s quiet voice tore Kuroo from his stupor. “Everyone makes mistakes, especially when it comes to the people we care about. That doesn’t mean that you messed everything up. Part of being with someone is learning what works and what doesn’t. Some things you can fix, and some you just have to compromise on, and if you really love each other you _will_ compromise.” Kuroo laughed vaguely and Akaashi felt proud that he could at least make his friend smile. “I guess what I’m saying is that as long as you truly care, it doesn’t matter what you do because it will be coming from you.”

       Kuroo thought this over for a moment. “Akaashi, you don’t know Kenma. The way he—”

       “I don’t have to know Kenma to know how he feels about you.” Kuroo stared at him with wide eyes, clearly not expecting that to come out of his mouth of all things. “Literally anyone and everyone can see how he feels. Everyone. Except you.”

       “And… and how does he feel?” Kuroo asked nervously, eyebrows drawing together.

       “I think you should ask him yourself,” Akaashi said with a small smile. Kuroo chuckled and shook his head as if that were the most ridiculous prospect in the world. Then he grew very quiet and focused on a mystery stain on the floor that had been there since Kuroo found this room. “Is there something else that’s bothering you?”

       “That night at Sun Down,” Kuroo started quietly. Akaashi saw him clench his fists, shaking slightly. “You remember there that guy that was harassing Kenma?”

       “Yeah,” Akaashi’s face fell as he recalled Kuroo’s recount of the incident. There was something he was wondering, but he was almost too afraid to ask. “I still don’t think I understand fully what happened.”

       “I didn’t think I understood either. And then the next day he told me what really happened, and even though I wish he’d told me right away, I’m pretty glad he didn’t. I don’t know what I would have done.” Oh no. This sounded bad. “It wasn’t just a drunk idiot that wrapped his arm around Kenma’s waist and said some dumb things. Fuck, even _thinking_ about it, I just. Goddamnit.”

       “Calm down, Kuroo. It’s alright. It’s oka—”

       “That guy was turned on.” Akaashi felt his stomach drop; how could Kenma know that guy was turned on unless he felt it? It was dark. They were too close for him to see. How else would he know? _How else would he know?_ “He pushed against Kenma. Nearly pinned him to the bar. He was turned on and Kenma could feel it. That’s how close he was.”

 _Shit_ … and Kenma didn’t say _anything?_ No, that was wrong. It wasn’t Kenma’s fault at all. The poor boy did nothing wrong. It’s just that Akaashi knew Kuroo and knew it must have been frustrating all the same. He can see how hard Kuroo is working to keep his anger under control.

       “Fuck. Is he okay?”

       “I honestly don’t know,” Kuroo says quietly. “I think it really got to him. Obviously he doesn’t want to really talk about it, which I completely understand, but…”

       “You want to be there for him, and that’s perfectly okay. That’s more than okay. He’ll talk to you when he’s ready.” Akaashi tried to sound helpful but didn’t know if anything he was saying was actually doing any good. Kuroo just gave him a short nod before standing up.

       “Thank you,” he said. Akaashi stood as well. “I know that everyone else is probably wondering why I’m so off. If they ask… you can tell them.”

       “Really?” Akaashi was shocked.

       “I’m not really one to confront my feelings as you can probably tell, but they deserve to know. I should be the one to tell them but, y’know.”

       “I do,” he mused. “What should I say to Bokuto? You two are best friends after all. When he finds out you talked to me instead of him you know how he’ll react.”

       “I do know. I also know he’ll understand.” That much was true. Bokuto was going to be hurt, but he would get why Kuroo did what he did. At least that was the hope. Kuroo led them from the room, and as he closed the door behind them he stopped Akaashi and asked, “I’m not moving too fast am I?”

       “You met two weeks ago and have spent at least eighty percent of your time together, blindly flirting with one another. I think waiting any longer would be moving too slow.”

[~~~***~~~] 

**DAY 5**

       It was around noon on a Sunday and Kuroo had just woken up. Clad simply in sweatpants, he sleepily shuffled to his kitchen and rifled around in his refrigerator for leftovers from the previous night only to find that Bokuto had already eaten them all. Shrugging, Kuroo pulled out the ingredients to make something much too complicated for that time of day and was starting to set about mixing everything together.

       There was a knock on his front door and he paused, confused as to who it could possibly be. Bokuto was with Akaashi, so who rapping on his door? Curiously he made his way to the door and opened it. Nobody was there. Huh.

_What’s up with that?_

       Down the hall he heard a door close and then it hit him. Smiling slightly, Kuroo closed his door and went back to the kitchen to put everything away as quickly as he could. After shrugging on a t-shirt, he grabbed his keys and his phone and walked down the hall, not bothering to put on shoes. He stopped in front of a familiar door and took a deep breath before knocking three times. When the door swung open, Kuroo looked down with a smirk.

       “If you wanted me to come over, you could have just sent a text, Kitten.” If Kuroo was being honest, he swears he felt his heart stop. The shorter boy had put on his favourite black shorts and Batman tank which was cute enough, but pulled his hair back into a low pony tail leaving a few strands to fall into his face. Kuroo wanted to brush them away, but was able to barely resist.

       Kenma shrugged and stepped aside, signaling for Kuroo to come in, and softly shut the door behind them. Kuroo could feel Kenma’s eyes watching him carefully and felt his heart speed up; he wasn’t sure what the other wanted to talk about, but he had an idea.

 _I’m not ready for this_ , Kuroo thought in a panic. He wasn’t ready to talk about why he’d been freaking out so much lately. He wasn’t ready to tell Kenma how he felt. He wasn’t ready for this entire conversation. But Kenma was. So he guessed they were having it.

       Kuroo moved to sit on his couch and felt a bit more at ease when Zelda made her way up his leg and into his lap. All of Kenma’s cats had taken quite a liking to Kuroo over the past two weeks but Zelda in particular seemed to adore him and in Kenma’s mind that fucking meant something.

       As Kuroo pet her and kissed the top of her head, Kenma slid down onto the couch next to him, knees drawn close to his chest and carefully keeping a gap between them. For a second he didn’t say anything, unsure how to start. It didn’t help that the other wouldn’t look at him.

       “I’m sorry.” Kuroo spoke before Kenma could even think of what to say.  Why was Kuroo sorry? Was he going to say that he couldn’t be friends with Kenma anymore? Was he going to apologize for breaking things off so suddenly?

       “I can hear you thinking,” Kuroo told him, finally looking at him with that stupidly cute crooked smile of his that made Kenma’s breath catch in his throat. He wanted to just… kiss it off of Kuroo’s dumb attractive face.

 _Wait, what?_ Kenma blushed and received a curious look.

       “What has you so flustered, Kitten?” Kuroo’s voice was so innocent, but Kenma knew better; Kuroo knew exactly what he was doing, the jerk. But two could play at that game.

       “I think you’re cute,” Kenma told him, blinking slowly and tucking a piece of hair behind his ear.

       Kuroo’s eyes went wide and a light flush overtook his face. He groaned and looked away, shaking his head slightly. “You play dirty, you know that?”

       “I learn from the best,” Kenma said with a small smirk. Kuroo laughed before falling silent and looking down at Zelda who simply gazed back at him seemingly clueless. Kenma reached out and carefully touched his shoulder. “Are you okay?”

        “Are _you_ okay?” Kuroo responded, regarding him inquisitively.

       “What do you mean?” Kenma frowned, not bothering to move his hand away, instead just letting his thumb soothingly rub against Kuroo’s shirt.

       Kuroo let Zelda jump off of the couch and grabbed the hand on his shoulder, pulling a little. Kenma got the message and crawled forwards to situate himself in Kuroo’s lap the way they’ve been around each other all week. It’s nice this way. “You’ve put up with me basically acting like a jackass for the last five days.”

       “Akaashi talked to us.” The news seemed to embarrass him if the way he tensed up and went red was any indication. Kenma felt bad, so he decided to tell Kuroo something that he considered equally as embarrassing. “He came over yesterday with Yaku and Bokuto. I started crying. It was really embarrassing.”

       “You _what?_ ” Okay so maybe not embarrassing in Kuroo’s eyes. In retrospect Kenma could see where he went wrong. Kuroo started to fret, pushing the hair out of Kenma’s eyes and gently held his face, searching his eyes for signs of lingering sadness. Something about this seemed eerily familiar as Yaku popped into Kenma’s mind. “Are you alright? What happened?”

       “I’m fine,” Kenma told him quietly, not pulling away. “I just got really emotional. We _all_ started crying. That was the embarrassing part.” Kuroo smiled a little and let his hands slide down to Kenma’s waist.

       “Bokuto crying is not a pretty sight.”

       Kenma nodded, “He was snotting all over my shirt.”

       “Gross,” Kuroo laughed. “I’m guessing Akaashi looked almost perfect.”

       “It was annoying,” he rolled his eyes. They were both quiet for a moment before Kuroo spoke.

       “What, er. What did Akaashi say?” He was nervous, that much was evident.

       “That you were scared,” Kenma murmured, examining Kuroo’s reaction. It was not promising; he flinched, looking almost pained.

       “Kenma. I’m n—”

       “I’m scared too.”  Kenma said suddenly, casting his gaze downward. Kuroo was surprised. “I’m _really_ scared, Kuro. And I don’t like it. I just want to run away.” Kuroo felt his heart sink but he wasn’t completely shocked. He knew how sensitive Kenma was and how easily he was frightened away. But he would wait. He’d wait for Kenma forever. Then he heard something that threw him for a loop. “But for some reason, when it comes to you… it’s not as scary. And running away is. A _lot_ harder. I mean, I don’t _want_ to run away.”

       Despite how easy it appeared, Kuroo knew how hard it was for Kenma to talk about his feelings. Even though he wanted to just laugh and cry and yell about how happy he was, he needed to treat this situation delicately. But he just couldn’t help himself.

       “You know,” he said, squeezing Kenma’s waist slightly and leaning closer. “If you did run, I’d probably chase you. And my legs are longer. So…”

       “You. Are so embarrassing.” Kenma knew the corners of his mouth were threatening to break into a smile. He didn’t really care.

       “That’s why you like me,” Kuroo sang with a grin. Kenma rolled his eyes and put his hand over Kuroo’s face, weakly attempting to push him away. Instead Kuroo moved closer and nuzzled Kenma’s neck, knowing it tickled him slightly after having done it several times before.

       Kenma giggled and squirmed. His body was contradicting his mind’s order to try to get away and instead wrapped his arms around Kuroo’s neck, hugging him. He felt Kuroo tense momentarily before relaxing and kissing the top of his head.

       “I might like you a lot.” Kenma’s voice was soft, his breath hot against Kuroo’s neck.

       Kuroo let out a shuddering breath, smiling so hard it hurt—but that’s okay since Kenma couldn’t see him, though he probably wouldn’t care—and tightened his embrace around the boy in his arms.

 _This_ , he decided, _is what happiness feels like_.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> God bless anyone who gets the reference. ALSO, I may be starting writing commissions sometime soon so... if anyone is actually interested, just let me know!
> 
> Another thing: I do many AU's and series at the same time to keep myself writing and inspired. I have two ideas and I need to know which one sounds better.  
> 1\. Vampire or Werewolf AU with A/B/O Dynamics  
> 2\. Olympic AU


	10. For Future Reference

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “I definitely am lucky,” Kuroo said, gently rubbing Kenma’s sides. “I guess I’m also lucky that DangerDanger is free.”

       “Pfft, look at what Bokuto just text me,” Kuroo held his phone up in front of Kenma’s face. The message had actually come five minutes ago, but Kuroo had learned that interrupting his recording of a game of _Overwatch_ was essentially saying that it’s okay if you’re dead to him for five hours. It was not a risk he was willing to take, especially since he had discovered that no amount of flirting, affection, begging, or apologizing would change the other’s mind.

       Kenma leaned back a bit to read the text on Kuroo’s phone.

 

       Kenma snorted and shook his head. Bokuto certainly could be very silly when he wanted to be. On the other hand, that was his personality; it’s not like he was _trying_ to be ridiculous. That’s just the way he was. Kenma could see why Kuroo was best friends with him.

       “What’s with the dog thing?” Kenma asked, logging off and opening Netflix.

       “I have no idea.” Kuroo shrugged and put his phone off to the side. He let his arms encircle Kenma’s waist and stooped forward, resting his head on the shorter boy’s shoulder. “For as long as I’ve known him, he’s been obsessed with dogs in places they shouldn’t be.”

       “Weird,” he murmured, scrolling through his Queue.

       “Hm…” Kuroo nuzzled Kenma’s shoulder. “I did think about it though.”

       “Think about what?” Kenma’s voice threatened to waver the same way it always did when Kuroo was particularly loving. It made him feel so warm and giddy; he hardly knew what to do with himself.

       “Asking you to come back.” Kuroo clarified, still snuggled happily in the crook of the other’s neck. “Bokuto wanted to have both you and Hinata play with us.”

       “Shouyou is not good at video games.” Kenma said absently, attempting to distract himself with making the choice between _Voltron Legendary Defenders_ and _Guardians of the Galaxy_. “I mean, he’s _way_ better than Oikawa. Not better than Terushima, Hisashi, or Makki though. None of them are better than Suga. Voltron or Guardians?”

       Kuroo took a second to soak in the information as a plan started to formulate in his head. Things were coming together into one of the best ideas he’s had in a while—obviously leagues behind deciding to pursue Kenma but definitely better than putting hot chocolate mix in his coffee.

       “Kenma…” Kuroo sat up straight. “First of all, _Voltron_ , is that even a question? Secondly, what if we got them to play with us?” Kenma paused. Wow, he honestly did not see that coming. It certainly was an interesting idea in and of itself, that’s for sure.

       Getting DangerDanger to play with the HQ guys? That could either spell success or utter disaster. Is there even a game they could play with _all_ of them? They could do something in _Minecraft_ , but that wasn’t much fun. They could team up and take turns playing _Move or Die_ or _Rocket League_. They could even do _Super Smash Bros_. or _Mario Kart_.

       “That. Is actually a good idea.” Kenma sounded shocked.

       “Your faith in me is astounding, babe.” Kuroo rolled his eyes and kissed the side of Kenma’s head.

       “Can you really blame me?” Kenma was desperately trying to ignore the way Kuroo’s pet names make his head feel light and his stomach jumps into his throat.

       “I don’t know what you could possibly be referring to.”

       “Oh, I don’t maybe it had something to do with you thinking it was a smart idea to put a knife in the toaster.”

       “My Pop-Tart was stuck!” Kuroo pouted and retaliated the only way he could think of; a light nibble to Kenma’s neck. Perhaps this too was among Kuroo’s worse ideas, or perhaps it was among his better depending on how you looked at it. Kenma thought he deserved an award for how well he contained his reaction despite the shock of electricity that flashed through his entire body. _Why the actual fuck did that feel good? Am I crazy?_ Kuroo would literally be the death of him, he swears.

       “I-I had an entire b-box of Pop-Tarts, you could have had another one.” Kuroo was obviously going to hear the way he fumbled over his words, but he prayed the reason was one he wouldn’t figure out. And his prayer was not in vain because once Kenma spoke, Kuroo went red, embarrassed that he’d done something so ridiculous and _bless his adoring heart_.

       “Sorry,” Kuroo said, kissing the spot he’d previously bit which didn’t help anything whatsoever. Though Kenma guesses he’s grateful that Kuroo thought his actions had the opposite effect to what they actually did. He may have to clarify later. “But yeah, it’d be cool to get them in the office sometime.”

       “Well I think you’re lucky then.” Kenma turned, leaning against Kuroo and pulling out his phone to scroll through his messages. “They come back from Korea tomorrow and then they’re free until Tooru’s knee gets better.” It appeared that Kuroo’s vision had a possibility of actually coming together, and rather soon at that. Originally he thought he’d have to wait at least two months to get DangerDanger on their downtime, but he supposed that having someone who knew their schedule was helpful.

       In reality, Kuroo just wanted any excuse to spend more time with Kenma as if they didn’t already spend every possible moment together. But that was the problem; they didn’t have that many moments to spare, and Kuroo wanted to remedy that without cutting hours at work. He was a pretty important figure in the company, and he was already falling behind on some of his projects. This was going to temporarily remedy his problem.

       “I definitely am lucky,” Kuroo said, gently rubbing Kenma’s sides. “I guess I’m also lucky that DangerDanger is free.” Kenma doesn’t even try to hide the flush that rises to his cheeks. Kuroo’s been making him blush on such a regular basis that it’s becoming tiring trying to cover it all. That’s not the only thing that’s tiring… he’s been fighting the urge to kiss Kuroo for the last ten days, and he’s not sure how much longer he can hold out. Obviously he’s nervous—this isn’t his _first_ kiss, but it might as well be—but he’s not sure he’d rather kiss anyone else.

       Kenma had never been under the impression that there’s a perfect time to kiss someone. So often he’s heard his friends whine about the ‘ _perfect moment_ ’ but there is no perfect moment. There isn’t a perfect moment to take that first step. It could be in the mall parking lot. It could be while you’re watching a movie. It could be when you first wake up. It could be after school. It could be on a walk in the park. It could be during a million other scenarios. It could even be while you’re sitting on a couch at 3:30 in the afternoon, talking about K-Pop idols and video games.

       Kenma gave Kuroo a confused look, completely unsure if what he was about to do was okay or not. He supposed there was no way to find out until he tried.

       “What?” Kuroo asked, cocking his head to the side. “Is there somethin—” Kenma leaned forward and kissed him. Kuroo froze, his mind struggling to make sense of what was actually happening; he honestly thought he wouldn’t get the chance to kiss Kenma for quite some time and he was totally okay with that! Whatever made Kenma comfortable. But this was. Amazing.

       Just as Kuroo was starting to reciprocate, Kenma pulled away, looking panicked.

       “I-I’m sorry,” he blurted, face turning red. “Was that okay? I mean, I didn’t ask.” One of Kuroo’s hands tangled in Kenma’s hair, the other resting on his thigh. He brought their lips together firmly, smirking when he heard Kenma’s small noise of surprise. He wasn’t sure how it was possible that this second kiss felt even better than the first, but goddamn did it feel _so much better_.

       Kenma dropped his phone and rest his hands on Kuroo’s shoulder’s, one sliding up to lightly brush his fingertips against the soft hair at the nape of his neck. Kuroo sighed contentedly against Kenma’s lips and pressed harder, tilting his head. Kenma felt comforting warmth spread through his entire body and smiled, pulling away with one last peck to Kuroo’s lips.

       “For future reference,” Kuroo said, kissing Kenma’s cheek and squeezing him tightly. “You can kiss me… forever. And I’ll always be okay with it.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> WAAAAH! I'm so sorry this is so short OMG. The next chapter is gonna be all about DangerDanger up in the HQHQ and the long-awaited meeting of Oikawa and Iwaizumi. I just had to put Kuroo and Kenma's first kiss in before that happened (plus you need context for having a K-Pop group at a YouTube Gamer Studio!).
> 
> Also! Feel free to scream at me on [tumblr](http://lovely-volleygays.tumblr.com/)!


	11. No Flirting In The Office

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “No,” he said flatly. “You can go tell Kuroo that I said no. I’m not playing video games with the most annoying group of people on the planet.”

       “ _…on patrol, hit it. Ppallajineunde, ppaelun. Amugeotdo hal suga eopseo_...” the quiet voice faded off into a barely audible hum. Iwaizumi bristled and huffed, pausing in the hallway, not wanting to blow a fume so early in the day, but really not being able to help himself. It didn’t matter how sweet the melody was or how pure the voice sounded.

       “I don’t know who the _fuck_ is singing K-Pop in this office,” he barked angrily, opening the door. “But if I hear anym—” Iwaizumi froze, eyebrows nearly disappearing into his hairline. Sitting there, at his desk, was a boy with perfect hair and legs for days. Who the fuck was this guy? Certainly he didn’t work here! Nobody that good looking should be working behind a computer screen.

       “Well hello…” The boy looked at him, fingers stilling from where they’d been drumming idly on the arm of the chair. Quickly he removed his feet from where they’d been crossed at the ankles on top of the desk and suddenly Iwaizumi was starting to feel annoyance bubble up in his chest. Yeah, this guy definitely didn’t work here; anyone who did knew better than to even _look_ at Iwaizumi’s desk let alone actually put their _feet on it_.

       “Can I help you?” Iwaizumi asked, crossing his arms over his chest. It’s subtle, but he can see the other man’s eyes settle appreciatively on his biceps before flitting back to his face.

       “Sorry to be a bother,” he says without an ounce of regret and a killer too-well-rehearsed smile. Iwaizumi’s already bored with this conversation. He just wants whoever this is to get the fuck out of his office. Preferably out of the building, if that can be arranged. “I was told to come find Iwaizumi Hajime? Apparently I would know who he is because he ‘would look like he wants to kick me out’ according to Kuroo. However he never told me you’d be so damn hot.”

 _Of course Kuroo is behind this_ , he thought, rolling his eyes and moving to pick up some papers posted to the bulletin board next to his computer. (Obviously he was choosing to ignore the second part of this guy’s statement.) There wasn’t a single memo about annoying boys with perfect hair in the office today… but there was a notice about Lev having to go to the dentist.

       “Did he tell you to sing the most annoying song on the face of the planet as well?” Iwaizumi asked, his eyebrows furrowing as he sorted through his folders.

       The other man’s jaw dropped, scoffing slightly. “How rude! I take personal offense to that, thank you very much.”

       “And I personally don’t give a shit,” Iwaizumi smiled dryly at him. Before a response could be given, he sighed and said, “Look I don’t know who you are or why you insisted on singing some godforsaken song in _my_ office or put your feet on _my_ desk and I don’t know what Kuroo said, but I’m actually pretty busy.”

       Instead of leaving, like Iwaizumi had hoped, the man simply shrugged and pointed the message regarding Lev. “Well Leg-kun is at the dentist. Which means—”

       “No,” he said flatly. “You can go tell Kuroo that I said no. I’m not playing video games with the most annoying group of people on the planet.” The man pursed his lips, eyes narrowing ever so slightly, and he stood up, shoving his hands in his pockets. Iwaizumi couldn’t help but notice that this stranger looked even prettier up close and _damn_ those legs looked way too good.

       “Now we both know you don’t really have a choice,” he said, pouting slightly. Then his lips stretched into a smirk, “Besides, don’t you want to meet a group of truly beautiful boys, Iwa-chan?” Something about the purr in his voice told Iwaizumi that this stranger was included in said group of ‘truly beautiful boys’ even if he was probably just a PR. Damnit. This is so not how he wanted this day to go.

       Not only would be surrounded by his own idiots but now he would be forced to make nice with some entitled assholes who sang the worst songs in the world. _Well, at least Hinata seems humble enough_. But there’s no telling how he’d act around his other band members. Iwaizumi sighs again before tossing his papers back on the desk as a sign of resignation.

       “Anyone who sings Korean Pop music for a living is someone I don’t want to meet. And never call me that again.”

       “It’s certainly too late for that isn’t it?” The boy cocked his head to the side and his eyes flashed daringly. _Ugh_. So what if he was hot? This guy was everything Iwaizumi couldn’t stand! Egocentric. Boastful. Too aware of his own appearance. This was a nightmare.

       “It’s never too late,” Iwaizumi told him, raising an eyebrow. Then the boy threw his head back and laughed causing Iwaizumi to blink in surprise. It was such an innocent laugh. It was so musical and light and not at all what he was expecting. Before either of them could speak again, someone poked their head into the doorway.

       “Yo,” Kuroo said.

       “Why do you send people like this to my office?” Iwaizumi asked him, hooking a thumb in the stranger’s direction causing said stranger to glare at him.

       “Maybe don’t talk about a K-Pop idol like that?” Kuroo suggested with a shrug of his shoulders. The tone of Kuroo’s voice suggested he was attempting to catch Iwaizumi off guard or embarrass him but you’d have to wake up pretty damn early to pull one past the most unshakable man on earth.

       “I don’t care if he’s the President,” Iwaizumi said, narrowing his eyes at the amused boy in the doorway. “I find him annoying.”

       “How rude, Iwa-chan!” The boy said, poking his shoulder with a look of fake-hurt on his face.

       “Don’t call me that,” Iwaizumi said flatly.

       “Wow, Oikawa.” Kuroo looked at him in a daze. “You really do give everyone a stupid nickname, don’t you?”

       Oikawa crossed his arms over his chest, “Call it stupid all you want—”

       “It’s stupid,” both of them said in unison.

       “—but Iwaizumi is such a mouthful.” Then he lowered his voice so only Iwaizumi could hear him and said, “At least… I’m hoping you are.” Iwaizumi took in a deep breath and thanked whatever god there was out there that he could keep a straight face. _Damn, what the hell?_ Who gave Oikawa the right to say shit like that?

       “Whatever he said, I don’t wanna know,” Kuroo said, pointing at them before disappearing. Iwaizumi glared at Oikawa who held his hands up in defense before following Kuroo out and down the hallway. This was certainly going to be a long day.

[~~~***~~~]

       “Teru, please put that down,” Suga murmured, flipping the pages of the magazine in his hands. He didn’t have to look to know that Terushima and Hisashi were frowning at him from across the room. Quickly, Terushima made a peace sign and stuck out his tongue while Hisashi took a picture of him before they grumbled something about _okay mom_ and put down the heavy golden YouTube Play Button that had been sitting on a shelf nearby.

       “Yo Suga,” Makki said, coming up behind Terushima and elbowing him playfully. “Why you gotta hate on my man?”

       “Yaku will literally murder all three of you if you break their Play Button,” Suga told them with a shrug. That much was true. They might have all been buddy-buddy around there but no amount of friendship would forgive any of them for breaking something that meant so much too so many of the people at HQGames.

       “Speaking of murder,” Hinata said, sat between Suga and Kenma, his mouth full of Spicy Cup Noodles. “Do you think Iwaizumi killed Oikawa?” They thought back to a few minutes earlier before they’d sent Kuroo to find Oikawa and Iwaizumi. Things hadn’t looked hopeful for him either.

       “Are you sure that sending Tooru-nii was the best idea?” Hinata had asked.

       “Absolutely not!” Kuroo laughed.”But he’s a flirty Korean Pop Star. I wanted to see what Iwaizumi would do.”

       “Kill him, probably,” Kenma muttered, eyes focused on his PSP.

       “C’mon he wouldn’t do that,” Kuroo nudged Kenma slightly. When nobody said anything he laughed nervously and wondered aloud, “Would he?”

       Kenma paused his game and looked Kuroo dead in the eyes, “Would he?” If the situation was so dire that Kenma stopped playing to address it, perhaps it warranted a bit of panic.

       “I’ll… go check on them,” Kuroo stood up but not before kissing Kenma lightly on the forehead causing the shorter boy to blush, but not even Terushima said anything; mess with Oikawa all you want, but pointing out Kenma’s love for affection and adoration was like pointing out Yaku’s short stature. Pointless and deadly.

       “Careful,” Kenma warned, going back to his game. “I don’t want _both_ of you dead.”

       “Kenma—”

       “No, I will not go with you this was your idea.” And with that Kuroo left, looking as nervous as ever.

       And presently everyone was wondering; were Kuroo and Oikawa dead? Could Iwaizumi kill them that quickly without anyone making a sound? Both scenarios were definite at best and likely at worst. What a shame. Kenma never even got to say goodbye.

       “We can only hope,” was the reply to Hinata’s lingering question of Oikawa’s existence.

       “Knock it off, Makki,” Suga rolled his eyes and flipped another page.

       “Sorry,” Makki held up his hands, “I meant to say _probably_.”

       “Pfft,” Hisashi laughed, playing with another possibly breakable item (or at least Suga and Hinata guessed).

       “Alright guys let’s get started.” Kuroo said, walking in the room closely followed by a pouting Oikawa and a seething Iwaizumi.

       Terushima pointed at them excitedly, “Kuroo’s alive! It’s a miracle!”

       “No it’s not,” Kenma rolled his eyes as his character died. In frustration he huffed and put his device in his pocket.

       “Oikawa’s alive too,” Hinata noted, smiling at the taller boy who flashed a smile right back. Iwaizumi couldn’t help but notice this smile was a lot nicer; more natural.

       “Now _that_ is a miracle.” Suga said, still focused on his magazine. He tilted it to show Hinata something and the two fell into a hushed conversation that Kenma wasn’t going to bother following although he did hear something along the lines of ‘ _wouldn’t this be cool for the video?_ ’ and smiled. Kuroo and Iwaizumi went about completely setting things up along with Akaashi who had been silently observing everyone since they arrived.

       Ten minutes (and one of Oikawa’s horrible attempts at flirting with Iwaizumi) later and everyone was situated, relatively comfortably, in the office among the computers. Kuroo was syncing the microphones with the monitors and Hinata was bouncing excitedly in his seat, jostling Kenma slightly—they were in the same seat as last time.

       They _were_ going to play single player Mario Kart but Oikawa refused, knowing full well he’d come in last. So they finally settled on Mario Kart and passing the controller every race. They were split into four teams of three. Kenma, Hinata, and Terushima. Iwaizumi, Oikawa, and Makki. Kuroo, Bokuto, and Hisashi. Akaashi, Suga, and (when he finally shows up) Yaku. Obviously Bokuto whined and said the teams weren’t fair, but this was as even as they could get it.

       Hisashi, who was sitting next to Kuroo, turned to look at Oikawa who was attempting to hide the fact that he was staring at Iwaizumi.

       “So Tooru, did you make it to first base?” Oikawa blushed at the question and coughed slightly. Iwaizumi just rolled his eyes, focused on the screen in front of him.

       “No, he struck out like a little bitch,” he informed them. Terushima and Makki burst out laughing while Hisashi gaped at Iwaizumi, overjoyed and pleasantly surprised with his reply.

       “You know what they say,” Terushima chuckled, wiping a tear out of the corner of his eye.

       Hisashi smirked at him, “If you gon’ live like a little bitch…”

       “You gon’ die like a little bitch,” Makki finished causing them to fall into another laughing fit, this time joined by Bokuto, Kuroo, and Hinata. Oikawa did not look impressed.

       “You guys are so supportive,” he pointed out, calming his red face.

       “Only for you, hyung!” Hinata said, giving the older boy a wide grin.

       Hisashi nodded, “Yeah, you’re our bro!”

       “Our dude!” Makki joined in.

       “The star of our hearts!” Terushima was leaning over the edge of the chair in a display of fake longing, one hand outstretched towards Oikawa who was literally four feet away from him.

       “Enough,” Suga barked at them, rolling his eyes. He could feel the headache starting already. Suga was someone who was always up for childish antics and joking around, but he’d known Oikawa long enough to know the difference between when he was not amused and when he was just embarrassed. Right now, he was as embarrassed as they come; he could flirt all he wanted to with Iwaizumi, but something told him that Oikawa was feeling like a little girl with a major crush right now.

       Kuroo hits _RECORD_ and instructs everyone else to do so as well, and that’s when they start. Kenma frowns at the controller in his hand; honestly, he’d give almost anything to be able to put down a Wiimote and never touch it again.

       “What are we doing today, Kubro?” Bokuto asks as Kuroo presses _Start_ and then selects multiplayer.

       “Today is one of the coolest OVC’s we’ve ever filmed,” he says, looking at the four different coloured cursors flicking through the character selection screen. Before he can continue, there is a slight interruption.

       “Pick Dry Bones!” Terushima and Hinata yell at Kenma who jumps slightly but sighs and picks the suggested character anyway. Kenma never really had a preference when it came to Mario Kart, in all honesty. Really anyone but Bowser or Toad.

       “Right,” Akaashi said, picking Princess Peach and looking at Suga who nodded approvingly. “If you’re not into K-Pop you may not know who are guests are, but we’re happy to have DangerDanger here recording with us today.” All six members gave various greetings and urged their respective teammates to pick certain characters as well. Bokuto begged Kuroo to pick Mario but Hisashi argued that Luigi was better and Kuroo had to agree. Iwaizumi asked Makki who he wanted to play as, ignoring Oikawa’s requests of Princess Daisy, and ended up with Waluigi instead. (“He’s the ultimate Meme!” Makki argued, smirking at Oikawa who just rolled his eyes—an action showing his annoyance that was good enough for Iwaizumi.)

       “So,” Bokuto started as Kenma, Iwaizumi, Kuroo, and Akaashi were beginning the first race. “I’m gonna get this out of the way now because I know the comment section will be flooded with literally only one question.”

       “Bokuto-san,” Akaashi interrupted, picking up a Blue Shell and promptly sending it directly to Kenma who made a frustrated noise. “You can _not_ ask them who their fans ship them with.”

       “Why not?” Bokuto pouted as Makki and Suga started laughing. “We talk about who people ship us with all the time!”

       “You can’t ask because they’re actually public figures and we’re losers who play video games on the internet,” Kuroo told Bokuto, speeding past Iwaizumi who gaped at him and called him a cheater.

       “You can absolutely ask us,” Hisashi confirmed, nudging Makki and waggling his eyebrows. Bokuto looked between them.

       “So I’m assuming that people ship Makki and Hisashi?” Everyone in DangerDanger as well as Kuroo and Kenma started laughing. Akaashi and Bokuto exchanged confused looks. Just then Kenma let out a loud exasperated sigh as he started the third lap of his race. Bokuto looked to see Dry Bones fussing on the screen after being hit by a Green Shell and smiled, giving Kuroo a thumbs up.

       “Everyone ships us,” Makki said. “It’s probably our second most popular ship.”

       “What’s the first?” Akaashi asked, narrowing his eyes at Iwaizumi who just cut him off.

       “Suga and Terushima—”

       “Which is insane, by the way!” The pair said at the same time before grinning at each other. In retrospect, Kenma could see why people shipped them. Suga was the leader of their group (a motherly figure with a kind smile) and Terushima was a wild child (loud and abrasive with an incessancy centered on sticking out his pierced tongue). In theory they worked well together, and of course they were good friends! But they were nowhere near being romantically involved. Suga was madly in love with Daichi and had been for almost five years now—anyone with eyes could see that, though they didn’t advertise it. Another little known fact about the band was that Terushima was actually dating Makki and had been since late 2012.

       “We’re friends,” Terushima clarified.

       “Really good friends,” Suga added with a nod.

       “Dating Suga would be like dating your mom,” Makki laughed. That much is true alright. Then Terushima jumped up and yelled in excitement, startling literally everyone but Hisashi who saw it coming since the race began. It was over now and Kenma had won which, in Terushima’s eyes, meant that _he_ won. They were on the same team after all. Kuroo grumbled something about it being unfair that Kenma had even played in the first place. Kenma looked over at Kuroo and winked causing the taller boy to flush.

       “No flirting in the office!” Bokuto shouted at them, also quite sore over the loss even though they came in second literally one moment after Kenma did.

       “Nine out of the eleven people in this room has openly flirted at least twice in the last hour,” Kuroo pointed out, raising his eyebrow at his best friend. After a second he added, “And that includes you.”

       “Who did I flirt with?” Bokuto asked defensively.

       “Me?” Kuroo said as he handed over the controller.

       “Suga,” Hinata added.

       “Akaashi, like twenty times.”

       “Makki.”

       “Oikawa.”

       “ _What is this?!_ ” Bokuto exclaimed, glaring at the two. Iwaizumi yelled at them to shut up and press start so they could get a move on and he could leave.

       “Oh I was just stalling,” Kuroo told him. Hinata was about to ask why when suddenly the door burst open and Yaku stumbled in, apologizing for being late and sitting down in the open seat next to Suga. The silver haired boy smiled at him and they exchanged polite greetings causing Kenma to chuckle under his breath. Kuroo didn’t need to ask why because he already knows; it’s a little funny to watch two mom-friends hanging out, all respectful jokes and daring smiles.

       “Next race,” Kenma said, handing the controller to Terushima who gave him a shit-eating grin in reply. Makki happily took the controller from Iwaizumi who sat back and tried to ignore the way Oikawa was staring at him. It was a tad flattering, in all honesty. To have someone that so many people considered attractive and charming to think that _you_ were attractive was more than just a little bit of a compliment. However, it did nothing for him when Oikawa seemed to be as annoyingly confident and fake as they came.

       “Any other popular ships?” Kuroo asked, leaning back and watching Bokuto zip past Dry Bones and Princess Peach.

       “Hinata and Oikawa,” Suga and Hisashi said at the same time.

       “I never understood that,” Hinata told them, snuggling closer to Kenma. This time, Kuroo didn’t feel anything but a weird sense of pride. Even if he was head over heels for Kenma, Hinata was just so cute with him. Their friendship was so adorable it was insane. “Tooru’s pretty, but I’ve been openly dating the same person for the last eight years of my life.”

       “I don’t know what it is that you see in him, Chibi-chan,” Oikawa grumbled, sitting back in his seat and pouting.

       “You don’t like Kageyama?” Kuroo asked, cocking his head to the side.

       “They’re old friends,” Kenma explained, settling back in his seat and putting an arm around Hinata’s shoulders. “They used to play volleyball together in primary school before Tooru was scouted by Fukuro. They never really got along.”

       “That’s why people like the idea of Oikawa and Hinata in a relationship,” Suga continued, then letting out a little cheer when Yaku weaved around Makki. “It’s the only ship we don’t really explain or talk about because it makes Hinata mad. People tend to support it under the pretense that Kageyama is the bad guy here.” And Suga wasn’t lying. Even from where he was sitting, Kuroo could tell how pissed Hinata was getting as he was grumbling and sinking further into the chair, his face going red. Though that’s probably how anyone would react if everyone thought that the love of your life, your soul-mate and best friend, was a hindrance to a “better” relationship.

       The subject of relationships was dropped as Kuroo brought up the internet memes involving the band including the .gif of Makki falling off of the stage during a concert in Busan while Terushima laughed and pointed. It was tweeted to the band and later became popular when Hisashi personally tweeted back with the caption, “When you COULD stop your friend from eating shit, but then you remember That One Time™ they let you crash and burn.”

       It was nearing the end of the last lap with Yaku in first place and Bokuto not far behind him. Everyone was cheering their teammates on when Hinata pointed out that Makki had just gotten a Blue Shell. Bokuto let out an excited, high pitched noise as it zipped away from Waluigi and Yaku smirked, making the split-second decision to let Bokuto pass him. Kuroo choked on a laugh as he watched Bokuto’s victorious grin melt into an expression of pure horror as Luigi was hit instead of Peach about ten feet before the finish line. Before they knew it, the race was over and Yaku had won. (Terushima may or may not have taken advantage of the Blue Shell as well, coming in second by a millisecond.)

       “ _You cheater!_ ” Bokuto yelled, standing up and pointing at Yaku. “We said no more Shell Passing! You promised!” The Hyenas (as Kenma has dubbed Hisashi, Makki, and Terushima) were cackling, not even upset that they’d come in second and fourth. Akaashi and Iwaizumi were smirking, and Hinata and Oikawa were in awe, not even aware that it was possible to avoid a Blue Shell.

       Yaku shrugged and put his folded hands behind his head, “Putting a ban on Shell Passing does nothing if you’re the only one who says no to Shell Passing.” Bokuto launched into a rant about the moral implications of Shell Passing and how it was very unsportsmanlike. Meanwhile nearly everyone was laughing at this point, at least somewhat amused by how passionate the owl-eyed boy was becoming.

       “Alright! Enough,” Yaku said eventually, still chuckling. It was time for the last race, which was _totally rigged_ , according to everyone aside from Suga who was easily the best out of the four of them—the four being Hinata, Oikawa, Hisashi, and Suga. And it was true enough to an extent! Hisashi played video games in his spare time (not that he had a lot of that), but Suga had grown up playing video games just like Kenma had. Oikawa and Hinata were screwed. Or so they thought.

       As it turns out, Kenma wasn’t only good at video games; he was good at telling people how to play video games. And what did Kenma do? Use this to his advantage. For you see, since he had started dating Kuroo approximately two weeks ago, he had come discover that Kuroo was… oddly mesmerized with Kenma when the normally shy boy took control of a situation. He had also come to discover that Kuroo liked to play a very frustrating game of _Pretend-You-Are-Imagining-It-When-Kenma-Reacts-Positively-To-Innuendo_. This game needed to end today.

       Kuroo watched curiously as Kenma placed firm a hand on Hinata’s shoulder and moved to point at the screen with his free hand, leaning closer to Hinata and whispering something in his ear. Time seemed to slow down when Kenma’s delicate fingers ghosted over Hinata’s wrist, smirking at something the other said to him. Kenma turned his head and Kuroo’s breath caught at the expression on his face; golden eyes heavily lidded, the sly smile on Kenma’s mouth distinctly sensual.

 _I can’t believe him_ , Kuroo thought, eyes wide. Then Kenma bit his lip and winked at him again before turning back to Hinata. Kuroo let out a breath and gripped Bokuto’s arm tightly to which the other replied with a confused, “Huh?”

       “I’ve never been so turned on in my life,” Kuroo wheezed, leaning away from the microphone, afraid someone will hear him. Bokuto looks at Kenma, who isn’t paying him any attention, and back to Kuroo noting that his Best Bro looks decidedly pained. Bokuto smiles knowingly and pats Kuroo on the head.

       All Kuroo can do is mumble and make pathetic whining sounds, staring into space and contemplating his existence.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ppallajineunde, ppaelun. | It’s getting faster, faster.  
> Amugeotdo hal suga eopseo. | I can’t do anything.
> 
> *lays down* i am very tired. anyways, this took a surprisingly long amount of time to write. it's hard to write for 12 characters in one room omg... 
> 
> Check out my [tumblr](http://lovely-volleygays.tumblr.com/important)! I'll be posting some poetry stuff (I know, I know) and also extra scenes from this AU. I'll also post my Olympic AU there once I decide to write it. (Don't worry, my Vampire/Werewolf A/B/O Dynamic AU will be posted here on Ao3!)


	12. Interlude

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> KUROO: Can I leave too?
> 
> AKAASHI: No.

**YAKU** : There are so many people on this set.

 **KUROO** : It’s definitely a first.

 **IWAIZUMI** : Remind me again why I’m here?

 **YAKU** : Because we’re paying you.

 **BOKUTO** : Kubro, are you sure Kenma doesn’t wanna be on the podcast?

 **KUROO** : Trust me; he absolutely does not want to be on the podcast.

 **YAKU** : Alright, why don’t we go ahead and remind everyone that we still aren’t sponsored by anyone and I am Yaku.

 **BOKUTO** : Bokuto here.

 **KUROO** : I’m Kuroo.

 **AKAASHI** : Akaashi.

 **IWAIZUMI** : Iwaizumi.

 **YAKU** : And today we have a shit ton of people here with us, and we’re really honored.

 **AKAASHI** : Earlier today we filmed a video that will be out later in the week with our guests, K-Pop group DangerDanger.

 **TERUSHIMA** : Wassup?

 **MAKKI** : Heyo!

 **SUGA** : We’re really happy to be here!

 **OIKAWA** : It certainly has been interesting.

 **IWAIZUMI** : _Tch_ , no thanks to you.

 **OIKAWA** : Rude!

 **IWAIZUMI** : I will literally pay you to get out of my face.

 **OIKAWA** : Be nice, Iwa-chan!

 **IWAIZUMI** : Again with the stupid nickname!

 **HISASHI** : It is a pretty stupid nickname.

 **HINATA** : It _is_ easier to say than “Iwaizumi.”

 **OIKAWA** : I knew there was a reason you were my favourite, Chibi-chan.

 **TERUSHIMA** : I’m hurt.

 **MAKKI** : Truly wounded.

 **SUGA** : Behave.

 **MAKKI + HISASHI** : Alright, _kachan_.

 **KUROO** : Mom Jokes aside, how are you guys?

 **AKAASHI** : Yeah, you’re on break right now, right?

 **TERUSHIMA** : Mhm, we’re taking a knee while Oikawa heals his.

 **MAKKI** : I don’t know how many times I’ve told you that joke isn’t funny.

 **TERUSHIMA** : Fuck you, I’m hilarious.

 **OIKAWA** : I certainly wasn’t amused.

 **TERUSHIMA** : You just keep hurting me, To. That joke was just for you.

 **SUGA** : Alright, _children_.

 **HINATA** : Like Teru said, we’re taking a break so Tooru-nii can heal.

 **BOKUTO** : If you don’t mind me asking, what happened?

 **OIKAWA** : I was being stupid—

 **IWAIZUMI** : _(quietly)_ Big surprise…

 **OIKAWA** : —and I fell during dance practice. My knee’s been really messed up for most of my life.

 **AKAASHI** : That must be hard.

 **OIKAWA** : Yeah.

 **HISASHI** : It sucks, but we’re so glad to have a breather. I feel like we’re dying.

 **TERUSHIMA** : Truer words have never been spoken.

 **HINATA** : Agreed!

 **YAKU** : What do you guys like to do when you aren’t busy being famous?

 **BOKUTO** : Well since you asked—

 **KUROO + IWAIZUMI** : Nobody asked you.

 **HISASHI** : I actually play video games.

 **KUROO** : No shit?

 **MAKKI** : Absolutely, it’s a little annoying sometimes.

 **HINATA** : At least he’s being productive.

 **MAKKI** : I… have no idea what you’re talking about.

 **SUGA** : Yes you do, all you do is sleep.

 **YAKU** : Man what I wouldn’t give.

 **AKAASHI** : I know, right?

 **BOKUTO** : Sounds like a dream.

 **KUROO** : What about you, Suga?

 **TERUSHIMA** : He moms us.

 **SUGA** : I do not!

 **HINATA + OIKAWA** : You absolutely do.

 **SUGA** : I spend time with anyone but my so called “children.”

 **HINATA** : You mean Daichi, Asahi, and Noya?

 **SUGA** : You bet your ass.

 **YAKU** : I like him.

 **HINATA** : That’s because you’re both moms.

 **YAKU** : Excuse you?

 **KUROO** : You are totally the mom of the office.

 **BOKUTO** : I don’t know how Lev deals with it.

 **YAKU** : Not like a whiny little baby, I can tell you that.

 **MAKKI** : I like _him_.

 **TERUSHIMA** : Me too.

 **SUGA** : You already have each other and Hisashi, leave Yaku alone.

 **BOKUTO** : What?

 **YAKU** : What?

 **SUGA** : What?

 **IWAIZUMI** : Someone answer a goddamned question, shut up!

 **HISASHI** : It’s an inside joke.

 **HINATA** : You’re going to make the fans explode.

 **TERUSHIMA** : I can already smell the theories.

 **KUROO** : Oh man, have you looked at Twitter, Yaku?

 **YAKU** : I completely forgot, oh god.

 **OIKAWA** : What do you mean?

 **AKAASHI** : Since the show is live we have a hashtag on Twitter that we watch during the podcast. There are usually questions and weird screencaps and the odd comment on Kuroo or Bokuto-san’s hair.

 **HISASHI** : And what are they saying now?

 **KUROO** : There’re some new ships swimming around.

 **YAKU** : Of course there are.

 **TERUSHIMA** : Lay it on us.

 **KUROO** : Well obviously everyone ships the moms.

 **SUGA** : What?

 **YAKU** : That’s crazy!

 **BOKUTO** : You guys are too similar.

 **MAKKI** : It’d never work.

 **YAKU** : Uh, not to mention I have a boyfriend whom I’m in love with?

 **IWAIZUMI** : You’d only say that if Lev wasn’t here.

 **YAKU** : Hell yeah, you see that flagpole anywhere around here? No.

 **AKAASHI** : Any other pairings, Kuroo?

 **KUROO:** Let’s see here… Bokuto and Kuroo, Suga and Terushima, Makki and Hisashi, Akaashi and Yaku. Pretty much typic— _oh god_.

 **BOKUTO** : What?!

 **KUROO** : - _laughing hysterically_ -

 **AKAASHI** : Yaku save Kuroo.

 **YAKU** : Alright fine. Let’s see here… _oh deaR LORD_.

 **BOKUTO** : _What is it?!_

 **YAKU** : Oikawa and _Iwaizumi?!_

 **BOKUTO** : You’re shitting me.

 **HINATA** : Oh my god.

 **IWAIZUMI** : No.

 **OIKAWA** : Oh…

 **IWAIZUMI** : No. Nope. Not happening. Whoever you are, stop shipping it. _Stop_.

 **MAKKI** : I could see it.

 **IWAIZUMI** : You shut your mouth.

 **HISASHI** : There’s something about them that works.

 **BOKUTO** : All jokes aside, I completely get what you mean.

 **KUROO** : I’d bet on it.

 **BOKUTO** : Yeah! Can we bet on it!

 **IWAIZUMI** : It’s like you have a death wish.

 **KUROO** : Me? Never.

 **BOKUTO** : Me? Always.

 **IWAIZUMI** : That’s it, I’m outta this fuckin’ freak fest.

 **YAKU** : No. Stop. Wait. Come back. Oh, there he goes. Darn, and to think I tried so hard to get him to stay.

 **MAKKI** : Alright, I really like him.

 **SUGA** : Makki…

 **HISASHI** : Lighten up, hyung.

 **KUROO** : Can I leave too?

 **AKAASHI** : No.

 **KUROO** : Damn.

 **BOKUTO** : Why would you wanna leave me?

 **KUROO** : I don’t want to leave you, bro. You know I love you.

 **BOKUTO** : Then why do you wanna go?

 **HISASHI** : ‘Cause Kuroo’s got a hottie playing Zelda down the hall.

 **KUROO** : You’re damn right.

 **AKAASHI** : You’re at work, Kuroo.

 **KUROO** : I know! Iwaizumi got to leave…

 **YAKU** : Iwaizumi left… So that he could work?

 **MAKKI** : Are you _pouting?_

 **KUROO** : I’m a simple man. Stop teasing me.

 **OIKAWA** : You clearly don’t know anything about Taka-chan.

 **KUROO** : Clearly.

 **YAKU** : Can we get back to the point?

 **HINATA** : I am not sure what the point is.

 **BOKUTO** : What do you guys like to do?

 **HINATA** : Right! I like to hang out at home or with Tobio.

 **SUGA** : Usually it’s Tobio.

 **HINATA** : So I have four cats that can’t chill, sue me.

 **AKAASHI** : What do you like to do, Oikawa?

 **OIKAWA** : Not a lot, really.

 **HINATA** : That’s not true.

 **SUGA** : Kenma isn’t here, you can say it.

 **KUROO** : Say what?

 **SUGA** : You cannot tell him.

 **KUROO** : Why?

 **OIKAWA** : Because I don’t want to die this young.

 **BOKUTO** : What are you talking about?

 **SUGA** : Kenma… doesn’t like it—

 **OIKAWA** : I dance. Even with my knee and how bad it is. I dance. It makes me feel alive. Kenma… is very caring and protective. I can’t tell you the number of times I’ve had a lecture from him about being careful.

 **HINATA** : So we don’t tell him.

 **SUGA** : Of course, he knows anyways.

 **MAKKI** : Obviously.

 **TERUSHIMA** : Kenma knows almost everything.

 **KUROO** : Huh. I suppose he does, doesn’t he?

 **TERUSHIMA** : Anyways, I think…

[~~~***~~~]

       Kuroo obviously doesn’t know everything there is to know about Kenma; he’s aware of that and he’s made his peace with it. As stupidly romantic as it is, he figures he has forever to learn all the little things that come with time. But in this moment, there’s something in his heart that is so warm and special. It’s something that feels like home. Kuroo hasn’t been in a _lot_ of relationships, but he’s never fallen so hard for the smallest things in someone’s personality before.  And damn if he hasn’t fallen.

       And he can’t find it in himself to care.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I JUST WROTE THIS AND I HAD TO POST IT IMMEDIATELY.


	13. Schrodinger’s Romance + Love For A Lifetime

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “Remember when you said Oikawa and Iwaizumi would be cute together?” Kenma asked quietly.

       “You guys are sure about this?” Kuroo looked from Akaashi to Yaku who just smiled and rolled their eyes. The podcast had ended, and while Oikawa, Terushima, Makki, and Hisashi were complaining about being hungry and wanting to go out, Hinata and Suga were tired and wanted to go home. Kenma had said that he was going to spend the podcast playing Zelda but had actually fallen asleep; Kuroo’s heart had almost exploded when he walked in on the sleeping boy and that’s when Akaashi and Yaku had pulled him aside and told him that he could take Kenma home. They were done working for the day.

       “We’re sure,” Akaashi told him with a firm nod.

       “Lev’s getting antsy and wants to hang out with us anyway,” Yaku added. “We figured we could take everyone out to eat. You can take Kenma home. It’s fine.” Kuroo wasn’t sure if he wanted to break down in tears or if he wanted to insist on staying and finishing his _CD-Rom_ notes.  Both options had their pros and cons. Of course, one choice he’d take in a heartbeat… but sometimes you had to really weigh your options.

       After a moment he finally asked, “There’s no CDR stuff you want me to do?”

       “Iwaizumi’s coming with us,” Akaashi said. “There’s no point in being here without him.”

       Yaku lightly punched Kuroo’s shoulder, “Go home.” That was enough for him. Kuroo beamed at them and dashed out of the room, yelling a goodbye over his shoulder. With a quiet knock he entered the break room and peaked around the door. Kenma was lying on a black couch, a blanket draped over his legs. Looking up from his phone with a sleepy gaze and a faint smile, he gave a lazy wave and Kuroo felt his stomach jump into his throat.

 _Nobody should be this cute_ … he thought. Yet somehow, Kenma was exactly that cute.

       “Hey Kitten,” Kuroo murmurs, walking over and sitting down at his boyfriend’s side before reaching over and brushing his hair out of his eyes. Kenma made a sound of acknowledgement and reached up to grab Kuroo’s hand, intertwining their fingers. The taller boy doesn’t think he’ll ever get tired of feeling Kenma’s hand in his.

       “What’s everyone doing now?” Kenma asks, squeezing the other’s hand lightly.

       “They’re going out to eat,” Kuroo tells him, noticing the way the other’s lips turn down a fraction of an inch in disappointment. “Don’t worry, we’re going home.” A look of relief floods Kenma’s face as he yawns and sits up, rubbing his eye with his free hand. Kuroo doesn’t think he’ll ever get tired of this either; Kenma’s inherently adorable yawns and the way he rubs sleep out of his eyes.

       Kuroo grabs Kenma’s backpack and gently tugs the boy off the couch, prompting him to stand. He slowly pulls Kenma along, out into the hallway, and out to the parking lot. Kenma felt himself frown when he had to let go of Kuroo’s hand so he could drive them home, but decided to write it off as his sleepy self’s need for affection and physical contact. Of course deep down he knew the _real_ reason, but he wasn’t ready to face that feeling yet.  

 _It’s not love_ … Kenma tried to tell himself. With Kuroo distracted, he felt it was a good time to sneak a look. And he felt his heart clench at the sight of his boyfriend dancing in his seat, singing the words to _Sober_ off-key in a soft voice.

 _It’s not love…_ he reminded weakly.

       They pulled up to their building and when Kenma walks around the car, Kuroo automatically grabs his hand and pulls him closer. It’s sweet that Kuroo knows him this well; sweet that he knows Kenma craves contact especially for a good hour or two when he’s just woken up. They go to Kuroo’s apartment like always because the cats would otherwise demand Kenma’s immediate attention and Kuroo knew the smaller boy wanted to just sleep. As someone who considered himself a true introvert, Kenma was exhausted after spending that much time with so many people. It really didn’t help that he had been staying up late into the early morning for the last three days to make up for the week before when he’d gotten a cold and couldn’t film any videos.

       “Go sleep, babe.” Kuroo kissed the top of Kenma’s head and sent him in the direction of the bedroom. Kenma couldn’t even make it that far and ended up on the couch, eyes closing immediately. Even as he was falling asleep he could tell… his dreams were going to be lovely.

[~~~***~~~]

       “Remind me again why I’m here?” Iwaizumi leaned toward Yaku with an expression of genuine curiosity. After hearing they were going out to eat, Hinata and Suga decided they could stave off their exhaustion a little longer. They had decided to go downtown to a Korean Barbeque Restaurant called _Kankokuyoori_ that was rather difficult to get into. Most of them would have been perfectly alright with going to a local Izakaya if it weren’t for Oikawa, Suga, and Makki who were complaining that they were missing Korea (as always). The place they were at had a long-standing reservation under the name Hanamaki and they were welcome to visit anytime. It didn’t hurt that they knew the owners, Kyoutani and Taketora, who were coincidentally also the owners of _Sun Down_.

       “You’re spending time with your friends,” Yaku replied as he handed the menu over to Bokuto who was practically drooling at this point.

       “I don’t recall any of these people being my friends,” Iwaizumi muttered, crossing his arms over his chest and sneaking a glance at Oikawa who was sitting directly across from him and laughing at something Hisashi said.

       “I take offense to that,” Akaashi told Iwaizumi while watching Bokuto with an amused smile.

       “ _You’re_ my friend,” Iwaizumi said, rolling his eyes which caused Yaku to scold him and launch into a rant about how being kind is extremely important. Meanwhile, Bokuto leaned over to Suga and asked him a question.

       “Is Hisashi okay?”

       “Hm?” Suga asked, cocking his head to the side.

       “He’s just smirking as Terushima stares at him.” Bokuto gestured to the boys sitting at the other end of the table. It was comical, actually. Hisashi was just smirking and talking casually with Oikawa and Hinata. Terushima, who had previously been talking exclusively with Makki, was staring at him with wide eyes and expectant expression.

       “Oh,” Suga smiled, “it’s because Hisashi doesn’t have a jealous bone in his body.”

       “Huh?” Bokuto did a double take, carefully examining the way Terushima was staring. “I thought Terushima was dating Makki?” Now Akaashi and Yaku were looking at them as well, interested in the conversation at hand. Suga was about to ask how Bokuto knew that until he remembered that earlier in the day they walked in on Makki and Terushima making out in the HQGames office.

       “Yes, he is.” Suga mused uneasily. It wasn’t as if he didn’t trust his new friends to be discrete or understanding, but polyamoury wasn’t necessarily a widely accepted concept. Suga waited patiently for the others to catch his drift, chuckling internally at the way Yaku’s eyes lit up with awe and Akaashi gave an accepting nod. Bokuto still didn’t quite get it.

       “So why—” he paused when Akaashi gave him a gentle nudge and they watched as it clicked perfectly in his head and he let out a slow _oh_.

       “Hisashi is exceptionally talented at playing hard to get,” Suga explains. “I don’t know why he won’t just say yes.”

       “It’s clear that he likes them,” Akaashi pointed out, watching Hisashi flash Makki a small smile. It was certainly true; Hisashi was crazy for the pair and often showed it when it came to Makki. Terushima was a whole different story. Sometimes it was because Hisashi liked to run and Terushima liked to chase. Suga couldn’t tell them the real reason why even if he wanted to; it wasn’t his place.

       “It works for them,” Suga shrugs and downs the rest of his Soju. For a second he thinks Yaku will push the subject because of the knowing look he’s sporting, but thank every god out there for Haiba Lev because that’s when the half Russian giant decided to show up.

       “Hey everybody!” Lev smiled brightly and took the open seat next to Yaku who looked suspiciously like Lev was the literal light of his life. He leaned over and kissed Lev on the cheek, handing him a menu.

       “Hey Lev,” Akaashi said.

       “Hey it’s the Jolly Green Giant!” Makki laughed, giving Lev a thumbs up.

       “Leg-kun, it’s good to see you again!” Oikawa flashed him a smile. Under his breath, Bokuto muttered _Leg-kun?_ Akaashi just shook his head and put an arm around his boyfriend’s shoulders.

       “How was the dentist?” Iwaizumi asked.

       “Perfect teeth!” Lev flashes his newly cleaned smile and puts his arm around Yaku’s waist as the smaller man mumbled _Bastard_ …

       “Who knew the dentist could be so problematic?” Hinata asked, giggling a little.

       “You’re damn right it’s a problem!” Yaku glares at nobody in particular. “Lev doesn’t brush his teeth regularly, but his breath always smells like mint and he’s never gotten a cavity! I brush my teeth three times a day and what do I get? Bad breath and a cavity every other year.”

       “Ouch,” Makki says before slamming the rest of his gin and tonic and signaling the waitress over to their table. Hurriedly she took their order and everyone had broken into smaller conversations when suddenly it happened. One moment Akaashi was talking with Oikawa and the next he was sighing in exasperation.

       “I didn’t say anything!” Bokuto said, his mouth half full of kimchi and duk galbi that Suga had ordered the moment they arrived. Unfortunately, the HQ guys knew that Bokuto didn’t have to say anything for Akaashi to know what he was thinking; they supposed it came with the territory of being in a relationship that long.

       “How long have you two been together?” Suga asked abruptly. He had something similar with Daichi after only five years, so he had to know how long Bokuto and Akaashi had been together… not that he and Daichi were in a relationship or anything. What a ridiculous notion!

       “We lost count,” Akaashi shrugs and absentmindedly rubbed Bokuto’s shoulder.

       “Eleven years, five months, three weeks,” Bokuto and Lev said at the same time.

       “That’s creepy,” Terushima whispered, looking between them.

       “Eleven years?” Oikawa asks in shock. “That… _wow_.”

       “Whoa,” Hinata said, eyes wide with admiration. “How old were you guys?”

       “Thirteen,” they replied.

       Immediately afterwards Akaashi said, “Fine…”

       “Really?” Bokuto bounced up and down in his chair, clearly ecstatic. Akaashi smiled at him and nodded causing Bokuto to squeal happily.

 _Something’s up_ … Oikawa thought, eyebrows furrowing slightly. He exchanged curious glances with Iwaizumi—he tried to ignore the way his mind screamed _he’s not glaring at you!_ and just pay attention. With the silence at this end of the table, everyone was now paying attention, curious as to what was going on.

       “Alright well.” Akaashi suddenly seemed shy. Yaku and Lev have seen that look a million times before; that’s kind of what happens when you work with a couple that’s been madly in love for the last eleven years of their life. As much as they gave Bokuto and Akaashi shit about it, they all thought it was endearing and extremely cute. “We were gonna wait for awhile more but there never seemed like a right time. I suppose it’s a good a time as any.”

       Bokuto couldn’t hold it in anymore, “ _We’re getting married!_ ”

       “ _WHAT?!_ ”

       “ ** _HOLY SHIT!_** ” Both Makki and Terushima’s sentiments seemed to sum up everyone else’s feelings. It was quiet for a moment before Oikawa let out a loud cheer and everyone else was practically screaming their congratulations, completely ignoring the looks of the other restaurant patrons.

       “Holy fuck, that’s amazing!” Yaku said, clapping Bokuto on the shoulder.

       “I can’t believe it’s taken this long,” Iwaizumi muttered despite the smile that was on his face.

       “How do you mean?” Oikawa asked him, tilting his head slightly. Iwaizumi ignores the voice that reminds him of how cute Oikawa is and decides to just reply.

       “They’ve been not-so-secretly engaged for the last three years,” he explains, shrugging. “I’m just surprised it’s taken this long for them to tell everyone.”

       “How did you know?!” Bokuto gasped, pointing at him.

       “You’re forgetting who Kuroo drinks with every Thursday,” Iwaizumi gives him an innocent smile and picks up his drink.

       “Speaking of Kuroo,” Hinata says. “Didn’t you want to wait until he was here to say anything?”

       “Nah,” Bokuto shrugs. “Kuroo’s known for weeks. I told him earlier today too. Just said _I know_ and walked away.”

       “How’d he know?” Makki asked.

       “Kenma, probably,” Akaashi answered, leaning closer to Bokuto. It was most likely true. Kenma seemed to know everything with how well he observed people. Plus he already knew they were engaged due to a drunk Kuroo and a drunk Bokuto telling him repeatedly.

       “We don’t have any details. Koutarou just wants, and I quote, ‘ _Everyone we know_ ’ to be there.” Akaashi shrugs, but he’s smiling so lovingly at his fiancé that it almost makes everyone sick. Then he addresses the DangerDanger guys, “Obviously you are all welcome to come as well.”

       “Suga, can we!” Oikawa all but begs the other boy the second the words leave Akaashi’s mouth. Suga pretends to contemplate the request, but Hinata knows he’s going to say yes anyways. It’s no secret that Oikawa loves weddings; he would marry a wedding if he could. The mere mention of weddings makes him go all dreamy-eyed and his voice goes all soft. Iwaizumi objectively thought it was adorable the way Oikawa stuck out his bottom lip and pouted. Maybe he wasn’t as bad as initially thought. (Later he’d berate himself for thinking that way, but for now it was alright.)

       “Of course we’re going,” Suga told him after a moment. “We’re going to have to anyways.”

       “What do you mean?” Hisashi asked.

       “Isn’t it obvious?” Yaku asked, giving them a quizzical look before exchanging knowing looks with Suga who rolled his eyes.

       “I give Kenma and Kuroo three months before realizing they’re meant to be together forever and another four before they admit it,” Suga explained.

       “Obviously since it took this long for Bokuto and Akaashi to announce they’re getting married I can only imagine they’ll actually be getting married in about the same time.” Yaku added.

       “So we’ll be the best of friends by the time the wedding rolls around,” Suga finished as Yaku nodded in agreement.

       “You really figured all that out already?” Terushima asked flatly.

       “What did you text about it or something?” Hinata asks incredulously. When neither of them gives a response everyone gapes in disbelief.

       “You know what they say,” Makki says after a second.

       “Great mom’s think alike!” Bokuto finishes. Makki high fives him and Lev, Terushima, and Hisashi burst out laughing. They wouldn’t admit it, but Bokuto and Makki may or may not have started to text one another recently as well.

       “You know Kuroo would punch you for that,” Iwaizumi informs them. Everyone laughs and they fall comfortably into their own conversations. Hinata pulls out his phone, presumably to text Kageyama, and the only people left to talk are Oikawa and Iwaizumi. _Of course_ , Iwaizumi thinks, sighing slightly. The last thing he wants to do is talk with Long Legs McPerfect-Hair. So he decides to pretend he isn’t there in the first place.

       “Iwa-chan, I’m not going to disappear if you ignore me,” Oikawa says after two minutes.

       “Shame,” Iwaizumi says, refusing to look at him, instead choosing to focus on the clean plate in front of him. Where the fuck was that food when he needed it.

       Oikawa smiles and Iwaizumi stares at him, noting that the smile is inherently bogus, just as it was earlier that day. It’s not like the soft smile he gives Hinata. It’s not like the excited smile he gives Terushima. It’s the plastic smile he gave the waitress. It’s the fake smile he gave the girl they passed on the way in here when she gushed and asked for his autograph even though he was tired and hungry. Deep down Iwaizumi really wanted a smile he could recognize as real; maybe Oikawa didn’t know he could tell the difference.

       “Are you always this grumpy?” Oikawa sipped his drink and lightly brushed his hair away from his face.

       “It’s a bad day,” Iwaizumi accidentally admitted, cursing himself. It did not matter how cute Oikawa was. There was no talking about Today to anyone. Not even Kuroo. Not even Yaku.

       “Well,” Oikawa’s smile faltered. “I’m sorry about that.” Then the food arrived and Iwaizumi was left perplexed. Wasn’t Oikawa going to press the issue? Wasn’t he going to ask why Iwaizumi was having a bad day? Wasn’t he going to be annoying? This entire one-sided façade of hate depended on Oikawa being annoying! Now what was he supposed to do? Was he supposed to just be nice? Never has Iwaizumi been good with this sort of thing. Yeah when it came to just being around those he was familiar with, he was fine. This was new to him.

       “Pass the kimchi please!” Yaku made grabby hands at Oikawa who laughed and handed over the plate beside him. _That’s a nice smile_ , Iwaizumi thought. Somewhere on the other side of town, Kuroo must’ve been able to tell what he was thinking because not a moment later did his phone buzz.

 

       Iwaizumi slipped his phone back in his pocket and shook his head. If he’d been paying attention he would have been able to see Oikawa giving him a nervous, curious look. Iwaizumi was too focused on his so-called _friend’s_ comment; Kuroo may be kind of a know-it-all (even more so now that he has Kenma) but he didn’t literally know it _all_. There was no way that he felt that way about Oikawa despite what Kuroo had said.

       It wasn’t just the fact that Oikawa seemed to embody almost everything he hated about the entertainment industry—fake, flashy smiles and charming everything that moved. It was… it was deeper than that. It was the fact that Iwaizumi was used to being hurt. It was the fact that he was just _him_ while Oikawa stood on stages in front of thousands of people. It was the fact that no matter how comfortably he was living his life right now, he’d always remember the fact that there were things he lived with that made him not want to anymore; one of those things being the fact that he was terrified of being in a relationship.

 _Shut the fuck up. We’re not thinking about today_ , he reminded himself. Suffice it to say he was already failing, but he was going to throw himself into a conversation about the second time Makki fell off stage and ignore the weird nagging feeling in his stomach. And he was definitely, 110% _not_ going to let himself even consider becoming involved with Oikawa Tooru.

       A month later, he’d contemplate punching himself in the face.

[~~~***~~~]

       Kenma’s eyes flittered open, the sound of soft humming of a familiar song floating gently to his ears. The soft fabric of Kuroo’s couch molded perfectly to his skin as he lay there slightly confused. How did he get here again? The light spilling in from the windows was dim and soft. Oh yeah, now he remembered…

       A few hours earlier Kuroo had driven them home where he hadn’t even considered stopping at his own apartment and immediately fell asleep on Kuroo’s couch.  It was now five o’clock in the evening and his stomach was growling. The humming stops and Kenma silently curses Kuroo’s hawk-like hearing.

       “Kenma?” Craning his neck, he sees Kuroo’s head peek around the doorway, eyes alight with excitement. It was both endearing and embarrassing how animated Kuroo became at the mere prospect of talking to his boyfriend. Though Kenma supposes he understands; even when he thinks about something that vaguely reminds him of the tall brunette, he feels a strange flutter in his stomach.

       “Hey,” Kenma says quietly, smiling softly at Kuroo. The taller boy jumped on the couch and hugged Kenma tightly causing him to squawk indignantly at the chuckling boy in his arms.

       After snuggling up to Kenma he asked, “Are you hungry? I made Udon.” It seemed a bit counterintuitive in Kenma’s mind; to trap him here by offering him food. Schrodinger’s Dinner in a sense. Only stuck on the couch by the prospect of wanting food yet not knowing if he’s hungry in the first place… he snorted a laugh and Kuroo sat up and looked at him with wide eyes.

       “What?” Kenma asked, feeling self-conscious.

       “There’s no way you were thinking the same thing I was,” Kuroo said, eyeing him. Kenma considered it for a second. Kuroo was a major science and math nerd; Kenma learned this a week after meeting him and Kuroo went on a long rant about Biochemical Engineering and proper lab protocol that Kenma actually listened to. Realistically the probability that they were thinking the exact same thing was pretty high.

       “Schrodinger’s Dinner?”

       “I’m—” Kuroo cut himself off with a bubbling laugh, burying his face in Kenma’s chest. Startled into silence, Kenma can only hug his giddy boyfriend to his chest and nuzzle his hair, fingers softly carding through his hair. Kuroo makes a satisfied sound, something like a purr and a sigh, and it always makes Kenma blush to hear it. Somewhere on the other side of the room Kenma’s phone dings.

       “Can you grab my phone?” Kenma asks before gently kissing the top of Kuroo’s head. The other boy carefully stands up and takes two long strides over to where the phone is charging on the table. He disconnects it and returns it to Kenma’s hands before settling down again, making sure not to squish the boy. Kenma hums happily and notes he has two messages from Oikawa.

       “Oikawa?” Kuroo asks, clued in by the way the other sighs.

       “Yeah,” Kenma mutters, shifting slightly so Kuroo is laying beside him rather than on him. Kuroo just frowns and wraps his limbs around the smaller boy, squeezing him lightly. Kenma snorts and kisses Kuroo’s forehead, turning back to his phone.

 

 

       Kenma put his phone down and stared at Kuroo who was drawing patterns on his chest with light fingers. Part of him wanted to warn his boyfriend about was coming, but clearly the train was already in motion. Poor Kuroo had no idea what was in store. Such a shame.

       “You said you made Udon?” Kenma asked, cocking his head to the side. Kuroo looked up, eyebrows raised and nodded, blinking a few times. _Fucking stop_ , Kenma though, altogether jealous at how even _that_ managed to look adorable. Carefully Kenma crawled over Kuroo and stood up to leave, giving Kuroo a quick kiss and lovingly brushing his thumb over the other’s cheek.

       “What’s that for?” Kuroo asked, cheeks going red.

       “Remember when you said Oikawa and Iwaizumi would be cute together?” Kenma asked quietly. Just then, Kuroo’s phone rang with three notifications. Kuroo’s brows furrowed and Kenma pat his cheek before turning and walking away.

       “Kenma?” The phone rang again. “ _Kenma!_ ”

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> HOOOOLY SHIT! That description does not accurately sum up all of the shit I crammed into this chapter? And I'm so sorry it took so long! Things are kinda slowing down so it's hard to figure out what I wanna put in every chapter. I have ideas of what I want in the story but they're months apart!


	14. I Was Wondering

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “I’m an enigma, Kuro.”
> 
> [NOTE: Tooth-rotting, face melting fluffy wOW]

       “Okay but I’m so tired?” Kuroo sighed and collapsed on Kenma’s couch. After Kenma had finished eating, the pair walked down the hall to Kenma’s apartment so he could feed his cats. The entire time, Kuroo had been locked in conversation with Oikawa about how to handle Iwaizumi. There was no way out of either; the idol had pushed the subject, asking too many questions that Kuroo could only answer for so long before feeling like he was going insane. It was like _20 Questions Iwaizumi Hajime Edition_.

       “Sorry,” Kenma murmured, setting Link’s bowl down.

       “You threw me to the wolves!” Kuroo gave him a hurt expression that was too cute to be offended by. Kenma walked over and pulled Kuroo into a sitting position before climbing on top of him. Kuroo’s arms automatically go around his waist and Kenma sighs, pulling the other close.

       “In my defense,” Kenma says, letting his fingers run through Kuroo’s hair. “You were more help to him than I ever could have been.” Kuroo just sighed happily and closed his eyes, enjoying the methodical feeling of Kenma’s fingers lightly massaging his scalp.  Kenma goes red hearing that stupidly adorable purring sound that Kuroo probably doesn’t even realize he’s making. Kenma watches Kuroo’s face with a certain feeling he can’t necessarily describe as anything other than pure fondness.

       “You’re really cute, did you know that?” Kenma says quietly, excitedly awaiting the inevitable flush and kiss his boyfriend will give him. Occasionally Kenma liked to take advantage of Kuroo’s ability to become like a flustered child. And sometimes that “occasionally” was almost every day. It wasn’t like he was head over heels. It was nearly impossible; they hardly knew each other. That’s what Kenma had to keep telling himself. They hardly knew each other, so obviously it can’t be love.

       “Oikawa got me thinking,” Kuroo said after pecking Kenma on the lips.

       “About what?” Kenma raised his eyebrows.

       “Since he asked me so many goddamned questions about Iwaizumi, it reminded me that I hardly knew the answers to those questions when it came to you.” Kenma laughed a little and shrugged.

       “I’m an enigma, Kuro.”

       “True,” Kuroo nodded and _booped_ Kenma on the nose. “But you’re _my_ enigma.”

       “That I am,” Kenma smiled and slid off of Kuroo’s lap before turning on his Xbox. “Alright, go ahead and ask.” In Kenma’s absence, Eren found his way to Kuroo’s lap and curled up, purring happily.

       “I’ll start simple.” Kuroo scratched behind Eren’s ears and smiled down at the black ball of fur. “How old are you?”

       “I’m 22.” Kenma told him, selecting _Hitman_ from the menu.

       “I’m 24. Where were you born?”

       “Tokyo.” Kenma pressed the A button and scrolled through the missions.

       “Osaka. Let’s see… do you have any siblings?”

       “No, but Shouyou and his sister Natsu are like family to me.”

       Kuroo smiled at that, “I don’t have any siblings either. What’s your favourite colour?”

       “I like yellow.” That was surprising to Kuroo considering that Kenma didn’t seem like a bright and sunny kind of person despite the fact that he was the light of his life.

       “Red,” Kuroo smiled. “What’s your favourite food?”

       “Apple pie,” Kenma replied absently. Kuroo started to make a mental note of the other’s answers for future reference; he figured he’d get reminders the longer they’re together, but he wanted to know everything possible.

       “I like Okonomiyaki. Easy to make.” That  was true. It was a few ingredients, some time on the stove, and _bam_ it’s finished. “How do you feel about getting flowers?” Kuroo had been curious about this for a little bit now, wondering if Kenma would even like flowers or not.

       “I hate it.” Alrighty then.

       “What?! Why?”

       “They’re just,” Kenma sighs and pauses, looking at Kuroo. “They’re there and then they die. Leave them alone.” Kuroo laughed and leaned over to kiss his cheek; he was too cute.

       “What’s your favourite holiday?”

       “Don’t have one,” Kenma murmured, returning to his game.

       “Really? I love Halloween!”

       “I dislike that one the least.” But Kuroo could see the smile that played on Kenma’s lips.

       “Who’s your idol?” Kuroo inquired, leaning closer to the other.

       “I don’t necessarily have one, but I really like Amber Liu.”

       “John Legend is my idol because he’s a good person,” Kuroo told him. But he had to agree; Amber Liu was like a goddess in disguise. “Your favourite zoo animal?”

       “Giraffe.”

       “Panther.” Kenma rolled his eyes. Of course Kuroo liked panthers. It was a big cat after all. “Oh! What’s your favourite movie?”

       “Spirited Away,” Kenma said after a minute. “You?”

       “I love too many movies to choose. I really like Pulp Fiction.”

       “That has that famous American actor in it, right?”

       “Which one?” Kuroo frowns as Eren gets up and leaves, presumably to find a nice dark place to curl up and hide. “John Travolta and Samuel L. Jackson are both very famous.” Kenma just made a noncommittal sound and continued playing. “What about surprises?”

       “Absolutely not, they’re _horrible_.” Kenma actually sounded angry which surprised Kuroo.

       “Really?” He asked, his eyebrows raised. They were both quiet for a while; Kuroo could tell Kenma wanted to say something, and he feared that saying something would startle him into remaining silent. Kenma paused his game and looked at his boyfriend, face completely red.

       In a quiet voice he said, “The only surprise I’ve ever enjoyed was meeting you.”

       Kuroo gapes and blushes furiously before finally saying, “…and you say _I’m_ embarrassing!”

       “You are,” Kenma muses. Then he leans forward and kisses Kuroo before pulling back and going back to his game. Before he can get embarrassed he says, “Next question?”

       “Oh uh,” Kuroo scratches his head, attempting to collect his thoughts. “What was your favourite subject in school?”

       “I suppose I liked art,” Kenma shrugged and Kuroo wondered if he was getting tired from doing that repeatedly. It must’ve been exhausting to seem so ambivalent towards so many things even though Kuroo knew the truth; knew that Kenma was usually overly excited or completely uninterested and there wasn’t really an in between.

       “I liked science,” Kuroo offered. Kenma resisted the urge to say _I know, you nerd_ and continued playing, frowning as Agent 47 was shot in the back and he had to restart the mission. Those damn elusive targets would be the end of him… Kuroo loved watching Kenma play because it allowed him to witness the rare occurrences of the boy actually failing. “Oh, what’s something you’ve always wanted but never got.”

       “All eight Harry Potter movies.” The reply was instantaneous. “What about you?”

       “Every year for my birthday I asked for a chemistry set but I never got one.” The taller boy sounded nostalgic. Then he said, “Something about not wanting me to blow up the house?” Laughter bubbled up in Kenma’s throat  and Kuroo gave a lazy grin, just enjoying the sound.

       “What are you afraid of?” Kuroo asked after a second, making sure not to interrupt the middle of the mission.

       “The dark.” Kenma’s voice was quiet. Kuroo pulled Kenma closer and snuggled him kissing the back of his neck causing him to shudder lightly.

       “The dark?” He inquired quietly.

       “Are you going to make fun of me?” Kenma sounded as if he was already expectant of teasing, which was disheartening in its own right. Kuroo definitely liked to tease Kenma on occasion—he liked to tease everyone in occasion—but never about something that could actually cause him emotional turmoil. Now wasn’t an exception.

       “No, of course not!” Kuroo squeezed Kenma slightly. “I’m just a little surprised. I’m afraid of bees, if that helps.”

       “Bees are so cute.” Kenma says, leaning back comfortably.

       “I’m allergic.”

       “That doesn’t count,” he says, rolling his eyes. “That’s like me saying I’m afraid of dust.”

       “Fine, I’m afraid of heights.” Kuroo admits, going slightly red.

       “Heights?”

       “Are you going to make fun of me?”

       Kenma turns his head and kisses Kuroo softly. “Wouldn’t dream of it.” Kuroo blinks and buries his face in the Kenma’s neck, feeling a blush flare across his skin. For a good ten minutes, Kuroo just watched Kenma play and didn’t say anything. At one point Zelda joined them, curling up against Kuroo’s side and causing him to smile.

       “Do you like to cook?” Kuroo asked quietly.

       “I can’t even make rice without messing up.”

       “It’s okay, babe. I’ll make you food.” They smiled at one another and Kenma chose a different game to play; some indie game Kuroo’s never even heard of called Hamsteak or something like that. Kuroo didn’t care enough to pay attention, especially considering he was attempting to remember all of the questions Oikawa had asked him. “How do you like your coffee?”

       “I like iced coffee one sugar one cream.”

       “You know,” Kuroo mused. “For some reason I’m surprised and I’m also not.” The other man made a noise and he explained. “I felt like you’d like it with more cream than actual coffee.”

       “Ew,” Kenma pulled a face.

       “That’s what I try to tell Bokuto.”

       Kenma snorts, “That doesn’t surprise me. How do you like it? Your coffee.” Kuroo could swear there was a teasing lilt to his boyfriend’s voice, but he couldn’t be positive. However, he’d be correct in assuming so; Kenma’s been attempting to half-heartedly seduce Kuroo for the past week and nothing is working. Then again, the attempts weren’t very strong. Kuroo decided to ignore it.

       “Preferably black and so hot it can melt my face.”

       “Geez, no wonder you say you can never taste your breakfast.” Kenma mumbles.

       “I take pride in my ability to inhale extremely hot food and not care about the internal scaring it causes.” Indeed he did sound proud; it was adorable if reckless.

       “Kuro, I’m going to need you to stick around for a while, and you can’t do that if you’re causing harm to yourself.” That was as close as Kenma’s gotten to saying _I need you, you idiot_ the entire time they’ve known each other even though he really _did_ need the other more than words would allow. Kuroo felt something bubble up in his chest and not for the first time he had to violently fight the urge to tell Kenma he loved him.

       “I’ll try better, Kitten.” Kuroo tells him, kissing the side of his head. “Oh, I’ve always wondered what your favourite and least favourite Pokémon are. Not who you think is the best or worst, just your preferences.”

       “Espeon is easily my favourite.” Kenma said, leaning his head back against the other’s shoulder. “I absolutely hate Electrode.”

       “You _hate_ it?” While Kenma hating something wasn’t really a first, it’s rare for him to hate a Pokémon. In fact, there were times Kenma scolded Kuroo or Lev for saying they hated a character, especially ones that were basically the equivalent of animals.

       “In the words of Jeremy Dooley, ‘Electrode’s a fucking travesty of nature, it should never have existed. It should have been Voltorb and Voltorb evolves into Voltorb Two.’”

       “Jesus Christ, alright then!” Kuroo burst out into that disgusting donkey laugh that made Kenma’s heart sing. After a moment he said, “Cubone’s gotta be my favourite, and Furret just… creeps me out.” Kenma couldn’t even argue against that. Furret was a tube-shaped rat nearly as tall as Lev and eyes that stared into your very core. Who _wouldn’t_ find that creepy?

       They sat in comfortable silence for the next fifteen minutes, Kuroo making quiet comments here and there. Even though he was watching the TV he was really watching for the second Kenma showed signs of being tired. The poor boy had barely gotten any sleep as of late and no amount of begging and offering to cuddle would make him sleep. (Though, the cuddles did certainly help.) Kenma didn’t yawn—his pride wouldn’t let him—but Kuroo could practically feel the energy draining out of the boy in his lap.

       “Alright, that’s enough for today.” Kuroo takes the controller and Kenma doesn’t resist, but just makes little noises that tug at the other’s heartstrings. He turns off the Xbox and television and gather’s Kenma into his arms. He stands and carries the tired boy to his bedroom. Kuroo takes care in gently putting Kenma in the bed and kissing his forehead. He goes about the apartment, flipping off the lights and plugging in the small heating pad that Zelda and Hal liked to sleep on before returning to the bedroom and joining Kenma under the covers.

       Kenma pulled Kuroo close and sighed, wrapping his arms around Kuroo’s neck and kissing him. Surprised, the other boy froze for a moment before closing his eyes and relaxing into the kiss, slipping his arms around Kenma’s waist. No matter what anyone said, Sleepy Kenma was Kuroo’s favourite Kenma; they might’ve had to deal with his sass, but Kuroo got to deal with his physical affection, and that was worth all the sass in the world. Kenma let his fingers run through Kuroo’s hair, pulling away.

       When Kuroo opens his eyes he sees that Kenma’s are closed, a content look on his face. He doesn’t dare break the silence, afraid it would ruin the moment. Honestly it was times like this that really reminded him of how fucking lucky he was. Kuroo wasn’t stupid; he knew the other felt like he was useless to Kuroo, but if only he knew… if only Kenma knew how crazy Kuroo felt and how grounded he became when they were together. If only Kenma knew how stressed and overworked Kuroo was and how he remembered to slow down because of him. If only Kenma knew how lonely Kuroo had been watching all of his friends be happily in love and how he got to experience that now… and how it was the best feeling in the world.

       Softly Kuroo asked, “What’s something that your friends know that your parents don’t?”

       “Probably that I don’t regret dropping out of school,” Kenma murmured, eyes still closed.

       “Hm…” It’s all Kuroo could say, eyes roaming the other’s face in awe.

       Kenma opened his eyes and shrugged a little, “I have a job where I do what I’m good at, make my own hours, and don’t have to deal with people all the time. They supported me, but I know they were disappointed.” He wouldn’t meet Kuroo’s eyes, but moved closer, tangling their legs together. “What about you?”

       “Everyone in the world but my family knows that I’m gay.”

       “What?” Kenma looked at him in shock, eyes wide.

       “They don’t know.” Kuroo’s voice was soft, his hand rubbing soft circles into Kenma’s back.

       “You… but all the time—”

       “I talk about it all the time, I know. Nobody in the family watches my videos.” Kuroo almost regrets saying anything at the distressed look on his boyfriend’s face. It reminded him of what Oikawa had said earlier that day; Kenma was caring and protective—probably even more so because of their relationship. This might as well be his worst nightmare.

       “Why not?” Kenma’s eyebrows pull together.

       “They thing I’m throwing my life away, for the most part.” Kuroo tries to sound as nonchalant as possible to keep from furthering the anger he could sense bubbling under Kenma’s skin. “Even though my parents are proud of what I’ve done and what I’ve become, they don’t watch my videos.”

       “Aside from DangerDanger, you’re the most successful person I know.” Kenma’s voice was quiet and calculated, and Kuroo knew from experience that this was not good. “How could _anyone_ —”

       Kuroo silenced him with a quick kiss, hand moving up to brush across the other’s cheek softly. “Kitten, it’s alright.”

       Kenma scowled but didn’t push his hand away, “No it’s not. You can say that it’s okay all you want, Kuro. I know better.” Damn him. Damn Kenma and his ability to tell whenever something was bothering him. Sadly it’s not even just things like this that he could decipher. It’s when Kuroo didn’t want to eat something, it’s when he’s upset about a comment on a video, it’s when he didn’t want to drive somewhere or socialize with people. It was just something else he gave Kuroo that Kuroo would never be able to repay.

       “I love my life right now,” Kuroo said suddenly. “I have a job I like. I have a best friend who’s always there. I have the best boyfriend in the world.” Kenma blushed but didn’t say anything. Kuroo kissed his nose and gave that crooked grin that made Kenma fall for him in the first place. “I’m alright if they don’t know that I’m gay. I’m alright if they don’t watch my videos. You’re right. I wish they supported me. I’m okay.” Then he was quiet, just covering Kenma’s face in small kisses and petting his hair, lulling him to sleep. All Kenma could do was bask in the attention, trying to curse every god out there for the realization he was coming upon, yet letting himself succumb to it anyway.

 _If this isn’t love, I don’t know what is_.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> do you have a cavity? ( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°) i can only hope so
> 
> also, i always forget to say this but i don't have a beta reader nor do i really double check things. i'll go back and read the chapter after it's posted sometimes and fix things then, but otherwise, i apologize for mistakes, heh.
> 
> ((ps pls dont hate me for the hs ref, i didn't know what else to put plus im trash so...))
> 
> If you were wondering about the Oikawa/Kuroo texts where Kuroo answers the questions about Iwaizumi, you can look [here](http://lovely-volleygays.tumblr.com/important)!


	15. Group Chat

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A Queen: Hisashi's sick?
> 
> Rap God: EXCUSE THE FUCK OUTTA ME?!
> 
> Dadchi: Uh oh.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> FINALLY I INTRODUCE THE BACKUP DANCERS! BTW Nekura is Japanese for "moody" XD
> 
> CREDIT...  
> [Oikawa's Profile Picture](http://taffydesu.tumblr.com/post/134593273194/glasses-oikawa)  
> [Hinata's Profile Picture](http://nikiforv.tumblr.com/post/151382849123/well-winno-matter-what)  
> [Noya's Profile Picture](http://tinyangryghost.tumblr.com/post/149531523489/once-u-get-used-to-the-hair-hes-p-fun-to-draw)  
> [Kageyama's Profile Picture](http://milcs.tumblr.com/post/150665446499/kageyamas-and-a-hinata)  
> [Terushima's Profile Picture](http://owls-007.tumblr.com/post/148894116081/bad)


	16. A Better Day

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Maybe they were having a better day than he was.

       “So you’re telling me that you’ve been dating Akaashi for over a decade but you _don’t live together?!_ ”  Bokuto shrugged at Oikawa and kept working, sorting through submissions from their community because Akaashi was busy planning for a company party. Oikawa was sitting on the sofa at the other end of the room. It’s been three days since DangerDanger played Mario Kart at the HQGames studio and frankly, Oikawa was just bored. It’s not like he was here because of Iwaizumi or Drunk Bokuto decided that Oikawa was going to help with planning his wedding.

       “We tried,” Bokuto says, frowning at the letter he was reading. _Get some help, Susan_. He deleted it and moved on to the next e-mail. “It never worked. At one point he was living in France.”

       “France?” Oikawa looked up from his phone. The other just nodded. “How long?”

       “About a year and a half?” It sounded so nonchalant, but Oikawa just gaped at him. After a moment where neither of them said anything, Bokuto looked at him in confusion. “What is that a long time or something?”

       “Uh,” Oikawa raises an eyebrow. “Yes, holy shit that’s a long time! How old were you? Did you take a break or something? Did you get jealous or worried? Your fiancé is a _supermodel!_ ” Wow. Now Bokuto understood Kuroo’s warning when he mentioned that Oikawa was going to be hanging out. All he’d said was, _The questions, Bro. The questions_ … leaving Bokuto completely confused as to what that could possibly mean. Now he knew.

       Bokuto sat back in his chair and shrugged, “We were 17 and even though we talked about it we decided it was stupid to take a break because we were in love. He just told me that it was dumb to still be worried after dating for 4 years but I mean. What the fuck, you’ve seen him. The man’s a literal angel brought to this earth by otherworldly forces.”

       “Thank you, Kouzan.” Akaashi appeared in the doorway, slightly flushed and holding a stack of papers. He walked over and placed he papers on the desk, giving Bokuto a kiss on the head and smiling at Oikawa. They were definitely too adorable, in Oikawa’s opinion. He was glad to help them out.

       “It’s only the truth, Idai.” Bokuto hummed happily and flashed a blinding smile. The way they looked at each other was nearly sickening and now Oikawa knew what Drunk Lev had been talking about a few days ago when he’d drunkenly slurred something about being sick of the flirting in the office even though Yaku then hit him lightly and reminded him that they were both huge contributors to said office flirting.

       “What were you guys talking about?” Akaashi asks, moving away to search for something on his desk.

       “Oikawa seemed appalled that we don’t live together yet,” Bokuto laughed lightly and went back to the e-mails.

       “Oh,” Akaashi said simply.

       “Oh?” Oikawa echoed in disbelief. “This is crazy, guys!”

       “We practically live together already,” Bokuto offered. It was true; even though his name was on the lease for the apartment he shared with Kuroo, Bokuto spent almost every night at Akaashi’s place. That’s the reason that Bokuto and Kuroo moved into their current building in the first place. In the case that Bokuto and Akaashi finally moved in or got married, Kuroo could afford to live there by himself and still have money left over. In fact, he’d have piles of money left over, but that was neither here nor there.

       “Well I suppose that’s better than nothing,” Oikawa concedes, looking down at his phone. It was true enough, but sheesh! It was like Hinata and Kageyama but worse! Oikawa didn’t want to think about it. He looked at the time and sighed. In about 20 minutes Bokuto said he’d be taking a break and they could talk about the wedding. Afterwards he would go back to e-mails and Oikawa could go home and get ready for the HQGames party he was invited to that evening for the premier of the pilot episode of CD-Rom. Originally Kuroo had insisted that DangerDanger shouldn’t be there and that it would just cause stress due to their fame, but after a nice panic attack he decided against it and allowed them to come.

       Out of the corner of his eye he saw Bokuto steal a kiss from Akaashi who scolded him but was smiling, and he grinned to himself. So in love even at work. It was disgustingly sweet, and he was so jealous. Absently he wondered if Iwaizumi was a closet romantic and sighed. Later he’d send everyone a group message about the party.

       Maybe they were having a better day than he was.

[~~~***~~~]

       “Hey Shou,” Kageyama sat on the couch and tossed Hinata a water bottle. The shorter boy caught it, wiping the sweat off of his forehead with the edge of his shirt, and paced the floor, stretching his shoulders. The brunette didn’t even hide the fact that his eyes drank in every inch of exposed skin Hinata gave him, however brief, but loving the way it always seemed to make the other blush.

       “Y-Yeah?” Hinata asked, unscrewing the bottle and tipping his head backwards. He drinks half of the bottle and screws the cap back on, waiting for his boyfriend to continue, stalling for time. The last thing he wanted to do was continue dancing, but he was on a strict schedule to keep himself in shape and to hurry along the process of choreographing songs when the group finally made their comeback. Maybe he’d call it a day; his legs were going to give out soon.

       Kageyama pursed his lips, “Do you think we should move in together?” Hinata drops to his knees and rolls the bottle across the room, whining slightly. They’ve had this conversation one too many times and frankly he just didn’t want to deny it anymore. They were old enough, loved each other enough, and were next on the friend list to get married, obviously after Bokuto and Akaashi, if they’d ever find the time. It was always a matter of what would happen to Kenma once they actually started living together. The other boy had always been Hinata’s roommate—they both needed each other and as best friends the idea of living apart was a little scary even if it made sense.

       “You know my answer,” Hinata sulks. It’s cute, but obviously not what Kageyama wanted to hear.

       “At some point I’d like to live with the love of my life, dumbass.” The insult was the only way Kageyama would say something so loving, and they both knew it. Hinata didn’t really take it to heart; he never did anymore. It was more of an endearing pet-name than anything else, but it was part of the reason Oikawa said he didn’t like Kageyama. _Your boyfriend shouldn’t insult you like that, Chibi-chan!_ He’d said it with a signature pout.  Hinata thought that might’ve been the reason Oikawa had never pursued anyone. Every person he met was nice and charming—a dangerous combination in their line of work. Even Suga had his off-days and anyone who could smooth talk you right off the bat wasn’t worth your time.

       Hinata stood up and walked over to the couch, allowing himself the luxury of sitting on his boyfriend’s lap despite knowing he should be dancing. Kageyama just raises an eyebrow silently, comfortably slotting his arms around the other’s waist.

       “I love you too, you know.” There was no reply. Kageyama was trying too hard to control the wave of dizzying emotion that overtook his brain for a moment. Clearly he was expecting some sort of retort or faux jab at him and not something so straightforward and nice. They could be together one year, five years, or eight years and hearing those words would do the same thing to him every time. Some couples were just like that; yeah after a while the “flicker” fades and you’re just left with the reality of the situation which is that you are now a part of someone else’s world and they are part of yours and you have your flaws and theirs to deal with.

       The fact is that life is just different now and you can’t think about what _you_ want all the time. For some people, everything becomes dull again. It was never like that for Kageyama and Hinata. Initially they didn’t get along. In fact, they nearly hated each other, but putting so much anger towards someone was just so hard and exhausting and neither of them had the time for it anymore.

       Then they started to hang around each other a little more and honestly one thing lead to another. One day they were scowling at each other, barely saying a word. The next thing Hinata knew, he was complaining to Kenma about this weird feeling he got whenever he was around a certain black haired boy. Kenma being, well, Kenma, he knew exactly how things were turning around for the pair, and had simply smiled ominously and told him not to worry about it too much.

       They’d certainly been through their fair share of ups and downs, but in the grand scheme of things, the universe wanted them together, so together they stayed and now they couldn’t imagine their lives at all without the other.

       Yeah, it’s true that Hinata and Kageyama practically lived together already, switching off between their apartments throughout the week… However, even though Hinata had always said that there was no way they’d be living together until Kenma could find someone else to stay with, it didn’t mean he didn’t want to live with Kageyama. Things would be so much easier. 

       But he was stuck now.

       “I love you, dumbass.” Kageyama mumbled. “Now get back to work.” And he unceremoniously shoved Hinata off his lap and onto the floor, smirking slightly at the loud yelp the other gave. As he grumbled and rolled over onto his stomach he sincerely hoped that someone, somewhere, was having a better day than he was.

[~~~***~~~]

       “Oh,” Kenma frowned down at his phone. From the couch in his apartment, Kuroo looked up from his laptop, over the edge of the glasses he only wore when he was working. (Kenma had straight up fallen in love with those stupid glasses, not quite understanding how an accessory he’d seen on so many people could look so hot on his boyfriend.)

       “Hm?” Kuroo asked. Kenma walked over to him and sat down beside him, drawing his knees up to his chest. He turned his phone and Kuroo looked down before nodding and going back to working. Kenma sighed and put his phone on the table before reaching over and pulling at Kuroo’s sleeve lightly.

       Kuroo just shook his head, causing Kenma to purse his lips and shift closer. Careful fingers brushed along the brunette’s cheek, gently holding his head as Kenma brought his lips to ghost over the other’s jaw. Kuroo whined—to show his obvious protest to such treatment and attempts to distract him—and slouched his shoulders, yet letting himself become lost in the feeling.

       “You’re working too hard,” Kenma murmured against his skin.

       “I—” he didn’t even have a proper retort because he knew that it was true. At this point he was just worrying over things that couldn’t be changed; the way the title animation was executed, the possibility that someone’s name was spelled incorrectly in the end credits, a continuity error, a slurred line, and a whole mountain of things that it was dumb to fret about. Production, editing, and animation had been over the _CD-Rom_ episode time and time again, specifically making sure that nothing bad would go wrong and fixing small errors that another department didn’t pick up on. All Kuroo could do is try to relax before he worked himself into the ground. And all Kenma could do is try to be there for his boyfriend, which is something he was very good at.

       Kuroo turns his head and kisses Kenma lightly. Then he pulls back, “Do you think Hinata’s been talking to Bokuto?”

       “I _know_ he has,” Kenma rolls his eyes and pecks his boyfriend lightly. It was abundantly obvious that the two had been texting lately. If Kageyama and Hinata were talking about wanting to move in, it was because the conversation was spurred on by Akaashi and Bokuto’s own desire move in together. Judging by the text Kenma had gotten, that’s exactly what had happened.

       Kenma brought his other hand up to hold Kuroo’s face and just stared at him, examining the way the light of the computer screen glinted off of his glasses, and the unassuming expression on his face. Kenma loved the curious eyes and slightly raised eyebrows, the soft lines of Kuroo’s face, and the way his lips were slightly parted. Not for the first time, Kenma wondered how he got so lucky to have such an attractive, huge dork of a boyfriend who cared so much about him.

       “What are you thinking about?” Kuroo asked quietly.

       “How much I like you.” The answer was soft but sure, no traces of hesitation in his voice whatsoever. Kuroo’s eyes went wide, a soft blush gracing his cheeks. Kenma loved when Kuroo was like this, and almost felt giddy at the rush of pride that surged through his veins. He kinda thought it was funny how he’d become so comfortably blunt while Kuroo had become even more of a flustered, bumbling mess throughout the course of their relationship. Kenma moves the fringe of Kuroo’s hair out of his eyes and kisses his cheek.

       “Let’s sleep,” he says with a soft smile. They both knew they needed to be ready for tonight and with the little amount of sleep they’d both been getting lately, a nap was greatly needed. Kuroo closed his laptop and placed it on the coffee table next to Kenma’s phone, allowing himself to be pulled from the couch and down the hall to the bedroom, feet dragging along the floor. Kenma gently pushed Kuroo onto the bed where he collapsed and groaned tiredly.

       Kenma huffed and rolled him over onto his back, carefully pulling the glasses off and placing them on the bedside table. Kuroo groaned again, murmuring nonsense about not being ready. Kenma turned off the light and prodded Kuroo lightly, asking him to move over before sliding into bed beside him. As Kuroo’s phone was slipping out of his pocket, Kenma grabbed it and pulled up the clock app.

       “I’m setting an alarm.” Even though Kuroo was half-asleep already, Kenma knew it was important to mention the fact that the alarm was being set. Without it, Kuroo would be on the brink of unconsciousness and jolt awake, yelling that he forgot to set an alarm and that now he couldn’t sleep because he was wide awake.

       “You’re so wonderful to me,” Kuroo tiredly slurs. Kenma blushes but doesn’t say anything. “So very wonderful. So important to me. I’d do anything for you.” It is at this point that Kenma has felt all the air leave his body and he has transcended to a new plane of existence. Only once before has he dealt with a Kuroo so tired he started to say things like this, and even then it wasn’t nearly as affectionate and kind.

       Since they’d started dating Kenma had regarded Kuroo in the sense that under the right circumstances, he _could_ fall in love. He’s never been in love before, not romantically anyways, but he’s been in love with his friends. He knows how it’s supposed to feel. Relationships aren’t easy, and they often find themselves arguing over dumb things, but he’d rather have that then constantly be bickering over something yet never wanting to break up. Kenma wouldn’t have even tried to be in a relationship with Kuroo if he thought they might go down that path. He’d taken his friends’ advice and just let himself be happy for once, and he has never been so glad in his life.

       So as they drift off to sleep, Kuroo continuing to whisper sweet nothings into Kenma’s hair, it didn’t come as anything more than a mild shock to hear what Kuroo really had to say.

       “Sometimes, and I mean all the time, I think about how lucky I am to have you. I think I’ll wake up from a really nice dream and you won’t be there. But you’re always there. And I am so happy I can’t even explain it. I just want to kiss you all day and hold your hand. You’re really warm too. And you’re always there for me and taking care of me. I love that about you. All of you. I love you. So much. Wow.”

       Kenma feels his eyes widen and holds back the bubbling laughter of surprise that threatens to break past his lips; he will not risk startling Kuroo into a significant state of awakening that would cause him to stress out. No, they’d never fall asleep. Instead he lays there and continues tracing patterns on Kuroo’s chest, smiling like a fucking idiot, adoring the fact that he was feeling so loved. It didn’t matter to him that they’d only known each other for month and a half. It didn’t matter.

       What mattered to him was that he was experiencing something he’d never felt before, because of Kuroo, and he didn’t think he’d ever experience it ever again with anyone else. Was he _in_ love? Maybe not right now. But damnit he fucking loved Kuroo Tetsurou and this big, dorky, loud, adorable, hot man loved him back. And that’s all he could ask for.

       Quietly Kenma whispered, “I love you too…” Nobody was having a better day than he was.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The Office .gif: OH MY GOD IT'S HAPPENING


	17. An Important Party (PT. 1)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “Why are we streaming this for everyone?” Akaashi felt bad for even complaining in the first place; he loved Bokuto and he didn’t care who knew, so why was this such a huge deal? It really wasn’t.

       “You’re gonna record this, right?” Bokuto smiled sheepishly at Kuroo. The taller man flashed a crooked grin and pointed to the phone in his hands. Bokuto laughed and scratched behind his head. It’s true that he was excited because it was finally the night to debut the CD-Rom pilot episode, but there was another reason he felt nervous happiness thrumming in his veins.

       “We’re streaming, bro.” Kuroo clapped him on the shoulder and turned the phone. “In fact, we’re streaming right now. There’s about 2,100 people tuning in.” Bokuto gave him a wide-eyed stare before his face broke into an ecstatic grin.

       “Oya oya oya?” Bokuto asked, practically vibrating.

       “Oya,” Kuroo wiggled his eyebrows and stepped away, bringing Bokuto back into frame.

       “Sweet!” The owl-eyed man sashayed to his left and grabbed his fiancé’s hand. “Akaashi! Did you know Kuroo’s streaming this right now?” Akaashi, who had been talking with Iwaizumi about the screening, turned around. His face softened at the excited look in Bokuto’s eyes, but he sighed.

       “Is that entirely necessary?” It was directed at Kuroo.

       “An announcement like this?” Bokuto asked, putting his free hand on his hip. “Of course!”

       “Bro, I’m so happy for you.” Kuroo faked a sniffle, wiping away an imaginary tear.

       “Thanks bro!” Bokuto released Akaashi and threw his arms around Kuroo, patting his back firmly. Akaashi looked at the camera with a deadpan expression before turning to walk away. Kenma turned the corner, Nintendo DS in hand and froze, seeing the men in front of him.

       “Is _that_ entirely necessary?” He mumbles, shifting under the gaze of the camera and however many people were watching. Akaashi smiles at him reassuringly, aware of how new this is to Kenma and how much he hates being in the spotlight. Fukunaga rounded the corner behind Kenma and stepped around him, addressing Kuroo with a brief nod of his head before taking the camera from him and immediately turning the lens on Bokuto.

       “Clearly,” Kenma rolled his eyes, smiling slightly. Kuroo gave him a big dumb crooked smirk that set his heart a million miles a minute. Kuroo opened his mouth to say something when his watch beeped and he looked down, quickly turning off the alarm and looking at Kenma with a frown. Kenma gestured for him to go and he smiled.

       “You’re the best, babe!” He quickly walked over to Bokuto and tapped him on the shoulder. “Are you guys ready?” Bokuto looked over to Akaashi for confirmation but paused at the hesitation in his eyes. Kuroo gave Bokuto a knowing look and waved for Fukunaga to follow him on stage away from them. Akaashi pulled Bokuto aside and crossed his arms over his chest.

       “Please remind me why we have to do this?” Akaashi asked quietly, huffing lightly.

       “What do you mean?” Bokuto’s eyebrows drew together.

       “Why are we streaming this for everyone?” Akaashi felt bad for even complaining in the first place; he loved Bokuto and he didn’t care who knew, so why was this such a huge deal? It really wasn’t. The look on Bokuto’s face certainly didn’t help the way his heart was almost hurting with guilt. “I mean, as much as I love our fans, we’ve never thought that everyone needed to know about our relationship.”

       Bokuto just stared at him for a second before breaking into a brilliant grin, “Well, I love you. I’m _in love_ with you, and I want everyone to know!” Akaashi flushed dark red but didn’t say anything. Bokuto giggled at him. “Besides, as much as I love the fan theories, both Kuroo and I believe it’s time to put some things to rest.”

       Akaashi never found it fair how this boy he’s known for so long could always make him feel like he was flying and falling all at once, and frankly it was a goddamned rollercoaster of something exquisitely wonderful.

       Iwaizumi walked over and said something that Akaashi was too distracted to listen to—honestly, he was too busy watching the way expressions passed so easily over his fiancé’s face, completely unafraid of expressing himself. It was beautiful.

       Taking his hand gently, Bokuto led him over to the side of the small stage to wait for Kuroo to address them onto the stage. Akaashi cleared his throat, “S-some people are always going to ship BoKuro and you know it.”

       “Even if that’s true, I like BokuAka better.” The grin on Bokuto’s face was soft and make Akaashi’s heart sing. “What about you?”

       “Yeah…” he reached for his fiancé’s hand, squeezing his fingers lightly. “I like it too.” Fukunaga approached them, having passed the camera to Iwaizumi to film.

       “Ready?” His voice was barely a whisper, yet Akaashi could hear it loud and clear.

       Bokuto gave him a smile and clapped him on the back, “Yeah, we’ll be there in a second!” Fukunaga looked at the hand on his shoulder, back at Bokuto and nodded before turning and walking away. Akaashi and Bokuto shared a curious look before shrugging and edging closer to the curtain, listening to what Kuroo was saying.

       “—my best friends in the entire world, Bokuto Koutarou and Akaashi Keiji!” Kuroo smiled into the wings, giving Bokuto a big thumbs up before the two walked across the stage, Akaashi slightly anxious by all the excited energy in the room and the cheering of the crowd.

       “Thank you Kubro,” Bokuto said after taking the microphone. He turned to address the people sitting before him, “Hey guys, how are you doing?” They gave another loud cheer. “That’s great! I’m so stoked that we could have some fans come out for the premier. What do you think, ‘Kaashi?”

       Akaashi moved closer to his fiancé and lightly placed a hand on his shoulder, leaning closer to the microphone and said, “I’m glad. I hope you’re all enjoying yourselves.” They could hear a few people whisper excitedly about _how cute they look_ but paid it no mind.

       “Alright now I know you’re probably all wondering what the hell this is all about, right?” The crowd eagerly agreed and so Bokuto continued. “Some of you might already know that Kuroo’s live-streaming this moment as we speak! Well there is a very specific reason.” An eager hush fell over the crowd and Akaashi awkwardly shuffled beside Bokuto.

       “I still think this is unnecessary,” he mumbled.

       Bokuto rolled his eyes and nudged him softly, “You think everything’s unnecessary, but we both know that now’s the perfect time to announce something like this!” Akaashi let his fingers brush over the other man’s, bringing the microphone closer to his own mouth.

       “I think you’re making them anxious, Koutarou.” There was a girl sitting close to the stage who went stiff, clutching her chest. She turned to her friend and whispered something along the lines of _My OTP, though_. Akaashi caught her eye and smiled slightly, laughing internally at the bright blush that crossed her face.

       “Don’t mind, don’t mind,” Bokuto giggled. On the side of the stage, Kuroo stifled a loud laugh; even after all these years, volleyball still ran deep in his best friend’s veins. “I don’t support shipping people in real life, but I just want a brief show of hands. Who here ships BoKuro?” Immediately Akaashi watched the girl in front, amused at the scowl that crossed her face at the mention of a relationship between Bokuto and Kuroo. Meanwhile, a nice portion of the crowd, including some of their own coworkers, raised their hands high. “I see. And who ships BokuAka?” Akaashi looked again at the excited expression on the girl’s face and when she met his eye, he winked.

       “Please just get on with it,” Akaashi said loud enough for the microphone to pick up his words.

       “I’m having fun!” Bokuto pouted—an expression that Akaashi usually kissed off of his face, but refrained from doing so in front of so many people.

       “The announcement?” He gently reminded.

       “Oh, right!” Animatedly he turned to the audience and gripped the mic a little tighter. “So recently there’s been a major development in my love life.” The questions came pouring out; among them Bokuto could only make out two.

       “ _Are you dating someone?_ ”

       “ _Are you dating Kuroo?!_ ”

       Bokuto laughed heartily, “No, I’m not dating Kuroo! He’s got his own little kitten to take care of.” Akaashi could hear Kuroo off to the side, whisper shouting to someone, _I swear I didn’t tell him it was okay to say that!_ “I’m not dating anyone either. I’m actually engaged!”

       And the shouts came once more.

       “ _Oh my god!_ ”

       “ _Bokuto-san that’s so fast!_ ” Akaashi couldn’t help but let out a laugh—it was the kind of laugh that made Bokuto stop whatever he was doing and just stare, utterly mesmerized. Akaashi coughed and gestured to the crowd, reminding the other that they were not in fact alone. Bokuto shook his head and stared at the sea of faceless people all looking up at him.

       “Now you all think that this is fast, but the truth is… I’ve been in love for the last eleven years of my life. So madly in love it almost hurts! And finally, we’re getting married.”

       “ _Who are you marrying?!_ ”

       “ _Who’s the lucky girl?_ ” Somewhere Akaashi could hear the laugh of a donkey followed by a choking sound that indicated a certain YouTuber had taken the initiative to shut up his obnoxious boyfriend, and Akaashi felt grateful for Kozume Kenma.

       “There’s no doubt about it, you guys! I’m gay as hell, alright?” Bokuto crossed his free arm over the other to make an _X_ and everyone laughed. Then he smiled, “And I’d like to introduce you to the love of my life, a beautiful man who makes my life better every day! Although some of you just know him as Akaashi Keiji.” The cheer the crowd let out was like a roar of positive energy and it made Akaashi (who would normally be annoyed or upset at a situation such as this) smile and nod, bowing slightly.

       Bokuto threw his arms around his fiancé and squeezed him tightly, causing him to let out a soft _oof_ and a chuckle, hugging back firmly. Off to the side, Kuroo and Yaku walked on stage, holding their own microphones as they observed the celebrating couple.

       “Bro that was the most romantic thing I’ve ever seen.” Kuroo faked a sniffle, causing the two to step apart. When Akaashi turned around to look at his friend he saw Kenma in the wings, rolling his eyes despite the fact that he wasn’t even watching.

       “Well I’m a romantic guy, bro.” Bokuto announced with a wiggle of his eyebrows, slinging an arm around Akaashi’s waist. The crowd laughed.

       “Oya oya oya?” Kuroo countered, grinning slyly.

       “Oya!”

       “I’ll have to one-up you some day.” If anyone else had known that Kenma was standing by, they would have noticed the utterly doting and admiring glance Kuroo sent him, and it was absolutely adorable. Seeing the love between them reminded him of his own love for someone he never thought he’d be here with. Yet… he wasn’t sure he could imagine himself with anyone else. Akaashi flushed slightly.

       “Alright I think you two are embarrassing Akaashi,” Yaku commented with a smirk after noting the odd expression on his friend’s face.

       He shook his head and shifted closer to Bokuto, “No, that’s not it.”

       A hush settled over the audience, almost like they were afraid to intrude on something that seemed intimate. Akaashi was known amongst coworkers and fans alike as someone who continuously and carefully schooled his emotions. A moment like this was rare, and they didn’t want to miss it.

       Bokuto smiled gently at his fiancé, “What is it, ‘Kaashi?”

       “I’m just… really happy.” Everyone let out a collective ‘ _aw_ ’ that made Akaashi roll his eyes but smile happily and duck his head in embarrassment. Bokuto gave the audience a rushed bow and escorted Akaashi off stage with Yaku following. The crowd cheered for them and Kuroo quickly took over.

       “Well you heard it here first, folks!” He said happily after the noise died down. “Akaashi and Bokuto are finally getting married after being totally gay dorks for eleven years!”

       Inevitably there was a comment from an avid BoKuro shipper. “ _Are you really okay with it, Kuroo?_ ”

       Kuroo let out a bark of laughter, “Pfft, are you kidding? I’m ecstatic! They’re my best friends!” There were a few whoops from the audience and Kuroo winked. “I love them both, but I’ve got my own babe. And before you ask, I’d like to clarify that it is not anyone’s business so please don’t ask.” There was another collective ‘ _aw_ ’ but this time it was one of disappointment. Kuroo laughed again, “I’ll tell you guys before we hit eleven years, I promise.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Please don't hate me for this short chapter. I thought that it being here sooner rather than later would be better than trying to painstakingly type out the second part and post it a month later.


End file.
